The opening ceremony of the Paris Paralympics begins this evening. Thousands of athletes will take part in a parade around the landmarks of the French capital.
An estimated 65,000 spectators will watch athletes from more than 180 countries march down the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde before the competition starts on Thursday.
It will be the first time in Paralympic history that the opening ceremony, which starts at 7pm local time (6pm UK time), will take place outside the stadium.
Around 4,400 athletes from more than 180 countries will take part in the parade. Paralympic champions Lucy Shuker and Terry Bywater have been selected as flag bearers for Paralympics GB.
The ceremony will end at 10pm, before the competition begins the next day in track cycling, swimming, taekwondo and table tennis.
There are a total of 28 Paralympic sports, but only 22 will take part in the Paris Games. Competition will take place in 18 venues over two weeks, with the closing ceremony scheduled for September 8th.
The Paralympic flame was lit last Saturday by British Paralympians Helen Rainsford and Gregor Yeun in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London considered the birthplace of the Olympic Games.
The flame then travelled across the English Channel to France, travelling in a four-day relay race from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean coast, and from the Pyrenees to the Alps.
Its journey will finish on Wednesday during the opening ceremony in Paris. It involves the lighting of a unique Olympic cauldron attached to a hot air balloon, which will fly over the French capital every night during the 11 days of the Games.
According to Sky Sports, GB achieved 124 podium finishes at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, including 41 gold, 38 silver and 45 bronze medals.
According to UK Sport, the number of sports medals predicted for Paralympic GB at the Paris Games is between 100 and 140.