Held 17 days apart from each other, the Olympic Games took place from July 26 through August 11. The Paralympics were held from August 28 through September. Both took place in Paris, France.

In 2001, there was an agreement between the Olympic committee to have the Paralympics shortly after the end of the Olympics.

The Paralympic Games was originally only for wheelchair athletes, but in 1976, it expanded. The first Olympic games took place in 776 BC. The Olympic rings’ six colors are the colors they are because every nation’s flag includes one of those colors.

The Olympics have athletes that don’t have disabilities competing in different sports, but the Paralympics have athletes with physical, intellectual, and sensory disabilities with modifications in the events. Olympic events are classified based on gender, age, and weight (in some sports), and the Paralympics are based on type and level of disability. Both get divided into the summer and winter games with Paralympics having wheelchair basketball and para ice hockey.

The symbolization of these two prestigious events is similar but also different. Difference Wiki states, “The Olympics symbolize global unity and excellence in sports, often marked by iconic events like the opening and closing ceremonies. The Paralympics, while also embracing these values, place a stronger emphasis on the resilience and capabilities of athletes with disabilities.”

There were 22 sports that were played in the 2024 Paralympic games. Some of them included blind football, goalball, para-archery, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis.

Boccia and goalball were only played in the Paralympic games. In the Olympic games there were 32 sports with five new sports. Those new sports were, breakdancing, men’s artistic swimming, marathon race walk mixed relay, kayak cross, and kiteboarding.