Jackie Chan Selected as Torchbearer for Paris Paralympics

Jackie Chan, the renowned Hong Kong-born martial arts actor, has been named a torchbearer for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, set to carry the flame just hours before the opening ceremony on Wednesday. Alongside Chan, French actress Elsa Zylberstein and dancer Benjamin Millepied will participate in the relay, which will parade down the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde. The flame, which was lit in Stoke Mandeville, UK, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel carried by wheelchair fencing medalist Emmanuelle Assmann. French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra emphasized the importance of promoting sports for people with disabilities. The flame will be multiplied into 12 separate flames, each carried by 1,000 torchbearers across 50 towns, ultimately converging in Paris for the ceremony. The Paris Paralympics will run from August 28 to September 8, featuring 4,400 athletes from 182 countries.