PARIS (AP) — Creative director Thomas Jolly has some lofty goals for Wednesday's opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, when the heart of Paris will once again become the stage for a stunning artistic display.
The outdoor ceremony at the Champs-Elysees and Place de La Concorde — a site where several members of the royal family were beheaded during the French Revolution — is aiming to challenge and reshape society’s perceptions of disabilities.
“When we cut off the heads of the king and queen here, it changed society once. Maybe this ceremony will be the second time we change society,” said Jolly, who was also in charge of the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics last month.
On Monday, under the sweltering Parisian sun, a hundred dancers, including 20 performers with disabilities, gathered at La Concorde for a final rehearsal under the secrecy of huge banners closing the square. The site hosted several competitions during the Olympics and has now been transformed into a grand open arena centered around the ancient Luxor Obelisk, the French capital's oldest monument.
Jolly said dance will be central to the show, celebrating all types of bodies through the universal language of movement. Swedish director Alexander Ekman has crafted a rhythmic spectacle where dancers — using crutches, wheelchairs, or adapted tricycles — will interact with pulsating beats.
The music of the event is once again in the hands of Victor Le Masne, who also composed the entire score for the Paris Olympics.
On the eve of the Paralympic rehearsals, Le Masne welcomed a group of journalists into a secluded Parisian studio, offering a sneak peek of the track titled “Sportography,” a blend of organic sports sounds and drum rhythms that captures the essence of athleticism, incorporating real-life elements like the screeching of shoes and the hard breathing of athletes.
Reflecting on his recent collaborations with Céline Dion and Lady Gaga for the Olympic Opening Ceremony, Le Masne shared a few insights into the intense creative process.
He vividly described attending a private rehearsal at the top of the Eiffel Tower, where Dion performed “Hymn to Love” at 3 a.m., just hours before the ceremony. Despite obstacles like rain and Dion’s ongoing health challenges, Le Masne knew that her performance would be nothing short of grandiose.
And he was equally impressed by Lady Gaga.
“I had to work on the ‘Mon Truc en Plumes’ arrangement and then flew to Los Angeles to pitch the idea to her management," he said. "They loved it, and Gaga immediately immersed herself in learning about French cabaret culture, even perfecting the pronunciation of the old-timey French song. Her professionalism was awe-inspiring.”
For the Paralympics, Le Masne’s approach has evolved.
“This time, I wanted to put the athletes first,” he said, emphasizing the importance of incorporating the physical and emotional sounds of sport.
The ceremony will also see the athletes parade down a section of the Champs-Elysees, Paris’s most iconic avenue, and special efforts have been made to ensure accessibility. The traditional cobblestones have been temporarily covered with a thin layer of asphalt to accommodate wheelchair users. That asphalt layer will be removed after the end of the Paralympic Games, on Sept. 8, said Thierry Reboul, who oversees all Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies.
Unlike the Olympic Opening Ceremony on the Seine, which was marked by stringent security and pouring rain, this event will allow the public to freely watch from along the Champs-Elysees and near the Louvre Museum.
The weather promises to cooperate this time, too, with bright sunshine and clear skies in the forecast.
“But we’re still pretty cautious about that last part,” Reboul joked about the weather conditions.
AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games
Victor Le Masne, musical director of the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies, pose in the Question de Son studio, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Tom Nouvian)
A dancer performs during the rehearsal of the Paralympic Games opening ceremony in La Concorde square, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Tom Nouvian)
La Concorde square, in the heart of Paris, is turned into a giant open-air arena to host the Paralympic Games opening ceremony, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Tom Nouvian)
A group of dancers use crutches during the rehearsal of the Paralympic Games opening ceremony in La Concorde square, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024 in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Tom Nouvian)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s push to ease restrictions on the use of weapons from the United States and Britain will be discussed Friday in White House talks between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Ukraine and many of its supporters in the U.S. and Europe want Biden to let Kyiv use the weapons to strike military targets deeper inside Russia, and there are signs Biden might shift U.S. policy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened that Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons would put NATO at war with Moscow.
Two U.S. officials familiar with discussions about the weapons said they believe Starmer will seek Biden’s approval to allow Ukraine to use British Storm Shadow missiles for expanded strikes in Russia. Biden's approval is needed because Storm Shadow components are made in the U.S. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share the status of private conversations, said they believed Biden would be amenable.
No announcement on a decision was expected Friday, several U.S. officials said.
During this week’s visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Ukrainian officials renewed their pleas to use Western-provided long-range missiles against targets deeper inside Russia.
Blinken said he had “no doubt” that Biden and Starmer would discuss the matter, noting the U.S. has adapted and “will adjust as necessary” as Russia’s battlefield strategy has changed.
Blinken spoke similarly in May, shortly before the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use American-provided weapons just inside Russian territory. The permitted distance has been largely limited to cross-border targets deemed a direct threat out of concern about further escalating the conflict.
Biden also has hinted that a change could be afoot. In an exchange with reporters this week about whether he was ready to ease weapons restrictions on Ukraine, he responded, “We’re working that out now.”
Putin said Thursday that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia.” His remarks were in line with the narrative the Kremlin has promoted since early in the war, accusing NATO countries of de-facto participation in the conflict and threatening a response.
Starmer said Thursday on his way to the U.S. that Britain does not seek conflict with Russia.
“Ukraine has the right to self-defense, and we’ve obviously been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defense," he added.
On Friday, Russia accused six British diplomats of spying and said it would expel them. Starmer’s government called the accusation baseless and linked it to Britain’s expulsion of Moscow’s defense attache in London over spying allegations in May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed U.S. and allied military leaders to allow his forces to use Western weapons to target Russian air bases and launch sites far from the border as Russia has stepped up assaults on Ukraine’s electricity grid and utilities before winter.
“The war must become more difficult for Russia — that is the only way to make them realize it must end," he posted Friday on social media.
Zelenskyy's appeal has garnered support in U.S. and European security and diplomatic circles, including from some former U.S. generals and diplomats, lawmakers and security analysts. They argue that Russia's previous threats of escalation against the West have proven hollow and that the U.S. restrictions on weapons are making it impossible for Ukraine to gain the battlefield momentum it needs.
Even a few Ukrainian strikes with heavier weapons on military targets deeper into Russia would put more strain on Russian logistics, troops and other resources, said George Barros, a security analyst for the Institute for the Study of War.
Zelenskyy also wants more long-range weaponry from Washington, including the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, for strikes in Russia.
Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz, a Pentagon spokesperson, said ATACMS would not be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers (185 miles) away, beyond the reach of ATACMS.
American officials also do not believe they have enough of the weapon systems available to provide Ukraine with the number to make a substantive difference on the ground, one of the U.S. officials said.
During a meeting of allied defense ministers last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he did not believe providing Ukraine with long-range weapon systems would be a game-changer. He noted that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems, including drones.
Starmer, meeting with Biden for the second time since his center-left government was elected in July, said he was visiting Washington for strategic meetings focusing on Ukraine and the Middle East. Britain last week diverged from the U.S. by suspending some arms exports to Israel because of the risk they could be used to break international law.
The White House talks were scheduled in part to help Biden and Starmer compare notes on the war in Ukraine, the languishing efforts to get a cease-fire deal in Gaza, mutual concerns in the Indo-Pacific and other issues before this month's annual meeting of global leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
The White House also has tried in recent days to put a greater emphasis on the nexus between the war in Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East that was sparked after Iranian-backed Hamas militants in Gaza attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
The Biden administration said this week that Iran recently delivered short-range ballistic weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine, a transfer that White House officials worry will allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets far beyond the Ukrainian front line while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets.
“This is obviously deeply concerning,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. “And it certainly speaks to the manner in which this partnership threatens European security and how it illustrates Iran’s destabilizing influence now reaches well beyond the Middle East.”
Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Ellen Knickmeyer and Tara Copp in Washington contributed.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the British ambassador's residence in Washington, Friday Sept. 13, 2024, before their meeting with US President Joe Biden. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy work on the plane as they fly to Washington DC, for talks with President Joe Biden on resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy step from their aircraft as they arrive at Joint Base Andrews, Md., ahead of talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on resolving the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
President Joe Biden speaks during the Violence Against Women Act 30th anniversary celebration on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, talks to the media on board his plane as he flies to Washington DC., Thursday Sept. 12, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
