Jackie Chan to carry torch ahead of Paralympic opening ceremony

Jackie Chan poses on the Red Carpet during the closing ceremony of the second edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF), in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 8, 2022. Image: Red Sea Film Festival/Ammar Abd Rabbo via AFP

Hong Kong-born martial arts actor Jackie Chan was named on Sunday as one of the torchbearers in the lead-up to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris.

The organizing committee announced that the 70-year-old, known for his stunts and acrobatic fight scenes, would carry the flame on Wednesday afternoon in the French capital just hours before the opening ceremony.

French actress Elsa Zylberstein, and dancer/choreographer Benjamin Millepied will also take part in the torch relay.

As with the Olympic opening ceremony, Wednesday’s event will take place beyond the confines of the Stade de France, with a parade down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde in central Paris.

The flame, lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville in the UK, the historic birthplace of the Paralympic Games, arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, carried by wheelchair fencing medalist Emmanuelle Assmann.

“It’s all about inscribing sport in the hearts of people with disabilities,” said French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera who was on hand to welcome the flame, alongside Tony Estanguet, head of the organizing committee.

The flame was due to continue its journey where it would be “multiplied” into 12 Paralympic flames, which will be carried by 1,000 torchbearers in around 50 towns, in 12 simultaneous relays.

These 12 relays will converge on Paris, where the flame will arrive on Wednesday for the opening ceremony.