The Organising Committee of the 2028 Paralympics released a preliminary proposal recently, coinciding with the 1,000-day countdown to the start of the event, which includes 23 sports across 260 events in what will be the first time the Games are held in the city.
The countdown to the Paralympic Games has begun, with the opening ceremony scheduled for August 15th 2028 at the SoFi Stadium, followed by the closing ceremony on August 27th at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Between those dates, the Games will take place with more sports and medals than ever before, according to organisers who expect to distribute all competitions across 294 sessions with the aim of ensuring greater broadcast coverage and attracting a larger following than in any other Olympic cycle.
"The first Paralympic Games in Los Angeles mean so much to all of us, and our teams have set themselves the task of creating a competition schedule guided by and geared towards the needs of the athletes," Ileana Rodríguez, of Paralympic strategy and relations, told Reuters news agency.
"These Games are designed with both the athletes and the global audience in mind, as we collectively count down the days to an unforgettable experience," she added. The Los Angeles Paralympic Games will be special for many reasons, but the city's Mayor, Karen Bass, highlighted another: next year will see a record number of female athletes competing on the world stage.
Several changes were noted in the announcement of the preliminary schedule compared with Paris 2024. The first five sports in which Paralympic champions will be crowned on the opening day of LA28 are para athletics, wheelchair fencing, para shooting, para equestrianism and para track cycling.
On August 24th in Long Beach, para climbing will make its debut in Los Angeles, the fifth new addition in just 12 years. Some disciplines, such as wheelchair rugby and boccia, will already have begun their competitions before the opening ceremony. This is unprecedented at a Paralympic Games, and will be particularly notable given that Los Angeles is hosting the Paralympics for the first time despite having twice hosted the Olympics.
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