The Legacy and Sustainability plan for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games — 94 • HARNESSING THE GAMES TO CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE THINK ABOUT DISABILITY AND PROMOTE SPORT The Paralympic Games are the ultimate sporting event for athletes with disabilities. Paris 2024 has high ambitions for this competition, as demonstrated for instance by its decision to use the same emblem for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The whole world will be watching France during the Games, which provide a unique opportunity to catalyse efforts and accelerate projects. Paralympic athletes’ performances will therefore provide a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on the skills of people with disabilities and demonstrate their employability. That is why Paris 2024 is part of an ecosystem where everyone works on a daily basis at their level to improve life in our society for people with disabilities. The ecosystem includes the French State, local and regional authorities, the sporting movement, the healthcare sector, the disability sector, the sheltered and adapted employment sector, as well as Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Powerful symbols and a high level of visibility are needed to change the way people think about disability. Paris 2024 has chosen to hold Olympic and Paralympic events in the same venues right in the heart of the capital, including at the Grand Palais and the Champ de Mars. Paris 2024 also decided to bring together the Olympic and Paralympic Games with a shared emblem for the first time ever. Furthermore, by launching an initiative to add Paralympic sports to the emoji dictionary, Paris 2024 is taking action to foster a more inclusive representation of sport and raise the profile of the Paralympic Games throughout the world. For instance, the Greater Paris regional authorities are pursuing an ambitious sports policy to increase the range of sports on offer for everybody across the region and thereby improve access to sport, focusing on women, people with disabilities and young people in particular. For example, agreements are in place to help sports federations, leagues and committees buy special disability-friendly equipment to meet the needs of over 250 clubs across the Greater Paris region that provide a range of activities for people with disabilities. Accessibility is another important marker for the Greater Paris regional authorities, determining the funding provided to local authorities in a bid to encourage them to implement a sports policy focusing on people with disabilities.