Impressive firework display at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the opening of the 2016 Paralympic Games, September 7 (local time).  

The opening ceremony for the first Games held in Latin America took place under the theme “Everyone Has a Heart,” to convey the message of a new perspective towards people with disabilities.

The ceremony opened with an impressive fireworks display, followed by a feast of music, light shows and performances imbued with Brazilian culture by 500 professional dancers and 2,000 volunteers.

The iconic wheelchair was also cleverly integrated throughout the ceremony, expressing the energy of athletes with disabilities in particular and people with disabilities in general.

Following the performances, there was a parade of athletes attending the Paralympic Games, with swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein of the Independent Paralympic Athletes’ Team taking the lead. Al Hussein is a Syrian refugee who lost his leg in a bomb blast during the civil war in his hometown. Al Hussein and Iranian refugee discus thrower Shahrad Nasajpour made up the team to make their first appearance at the Paralympics.

This was followed by a parade of athletes from disabled sports delegations. Swimmer Nguyen Thanh Trung was given the honour of carrying the national flag for Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President of the International Paralympic Committee Sir Philip Craven emphasised that the Paralympics was about people and could alter the way people around the world think about people with disabilities. “Paralympic sport has the ability to inspire an individual, and the outstanding capacity to transform communities, countries and continents,” he said, adding that the Paralympic athletes would demonstrate that the human spirit knows no limits.

The Games take place from September 7-18, bringing together 4,350 athletes from sports delegations from 160 countries around the world competing in 22 sports with 528 sets of medals.

Vietnam’s sport delegation is attending the 2016 Paralympics with a record number of eleven athletes competing in three disciplines: weightlifting, swimming and athletics.

On the first official day of the Games, visually impaired Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Ngoc Hiep will compete in the long jump contest, while Hiep’s teammate Le Van Cong will compete in 49kg-class weightlifting.