Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: we know the new destination of the “Agitos”, taken down this Thursday from the Arc de Triomphe
|Les Agitos ont été décrochés de l'Arc de Triomphe dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi pour être transportés à Bobigny. MAXPPP – Delphine Goldsztejn
Les symboles des Jeux Paralympiques ont été offerts à la Seine-Saint-Denis pour orner un centre sportif inclusif.
Seine-Saint-Denis is receiving as its legacy, this Thursday, September 19, the “Agitos”, symbols of the Paris Paralympic Games that adorned the Arc de Triomphe and will soon be installed at the inclusive sports center in Bobigny, announced the president of the departmental council.
For Stéphane Troussel, this choice made “with the Paris 2024 agreement and the International Olympic Committee is not a coincidence because we wanted to make these Games an inclusive and popular event and it was rather successful“, confided the man who is also the spokesperson for the Party socialist.
On the Prism, the only building left as a legacy of the Paralympics
Weighing one and a half tonnes each, the three red, blue and green crescents, named “Agitos” (“I move”), were taken down during the night from Wednesday to Thursday before being placed in Bobigny, at the Prisme, the “inclusive sports and metropolitan reference centre”. The only legacy facility from the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, the Prisme will enable high-level training and competitions for para-athletes as soon as it opens this winter.
Read also: Paralympic Games: what do the "agitos" mean, the three commas that form the logo on the flag ?
"It will be a new unique hub for disabled sports, since the Prisme has no equivalent in France," underlines Stéphane Troussel, satisfied that “these emblems complete the heritage for which we have fought since the first day”.While the French capital was the main theatre of competition this summer, Seine-Saint-Denis was highlighted by the Olympic aquatic centre built opposite the legendary Stade de France and the department hosted four Paralympic events including the entire paracycling road event.
Symbols of inclusive sports practice
“More than a souvenir, these Agitos are a symbol of the links that unite Seine-Saint-Denis and the Games and an invitation to bring their values and heritage to life”, reacted Tony Estanguet, president of the organising committee of the Paris 2024 Games, in a press release press.
“The issue of sports practice by children and adults with disabilities is one of the challenges that French society must address in the aftermath of the Paralympic Games,” stressed Stéphane Troussel.
Uncertain future for the Olympic rings
Better known to the public, the Olympic rings installed on the Eiffel Tower still have an uncertain future: the plan of the mayor of Paris to keep this logo on the monument until the Los Angeles Games in 2028 has raised strong criticism from heritage defenders and descendants of Gustave Eiffel, who oppose it.