The Paralympic Games begin. Here’s what to expect as 4,400 athletes compete in Paris

Let the games begin again.

The Paralympic Games start on Wednesday and some 4,400 athletes with a disability, permanent injury or handicap are preparing to compete in Paris over 11 days for 549 medals in 22 sports.

The French capital, which recently hosted the Olympic Games, will once again be the setting for what promises to be a spectacle, as many of these locations are also used for Paralympic competitions.

The opening ceremony will take place on the historic Place de la Concorde, which hosted skateboarding, breakdancing and 3×3 basketball events during the Olympic Games.

“We’re in the heart of the city,” Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “The symbolism behind this is like the city of Paris giving our athletes a giant hug.”

Equestrian sports return to the Château de Versailles, where para-equestrian events are held. The Grand Palais switches from fencing to wheelchair fencing. The Invalides archery venue will host para-archery.

The location next to the Eiffel Tower where beach volleyball was played during the Olympic Games is now home to blind football. This is an adapted version of the game for visually impaired players who play in teams of five, with a ball that rattles.

“We have some monstrously iconic locations and we’re going to take a look,” said French paratriathlon champion Alexis Hanquinquant. “Paris is the most beautiful city in the world. I think we’re going to have some pretty exceptional Paralympic Games.”

Of the 22 Paralympic sports, only two do not have an Olympic equivalent: goalball and boccia. In goalball, teams of visually impaired or blind players take turns rolling a ball with bells attached to it toward the opponent’s goal, while the players on the defending team act as goalkeepers. In boccia, players throw or roll leather balls as close as possible to a small ball called a jack.

Compared to the previous edition of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, 10 medal events have been added to provide more opportunities for female athletes and athletes with high support needs.

According to Parsons, about 2 of the 2.5 million tickets for the various events have been sold. This would be the second highest number of spectators ever at a Paralympic Games, after the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The Paralympic flame was lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, a village northwest of London that is considered by many to be the birthplace of the Paralympic Games. The flame was scheduled to travel under the Channel to cities across France in a torch relay before being lit during the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

The excitement has been building as Parisians return from their summer holidays – the city felt almost empty at the start of the month, with many on the coast. For locals who missed the Olympic action, the Paralympics are a second chance to experience some of the excitement.

The athletes — Paralympians — will be the center of attention on the first day of competition from Thursday, when medals will be up for grabs in para-taekwondo, para-table tennis, para-swimming and para-track cycling.

As with the Olympic Games, medals can be won on each of the 11 competition days.

Many of the participating athletes have to defend their title.

Para-shooter Avani Lekhara, the first Indian woman to win two medals at a single Paralympic Games, will return to defend her gold medal in the 10m air rifle in the SH1 category in Tokyo.

The SH1 category is intended for shooters with lower limb limitations, such as amputations or paraplegia, who can hold their weapon without difficulty and can shoot from a standing or sitting position.

American multi-sport specialist Oksana Masters won a handcycle road race and a time trial at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. She hopes to add to her career total of seven gold medals and 17 medals in both the summer and winter events.

Para powerlifter Sherif Osman of Egypt is going for his fourth gold medal and Italian fencer Bebe Vio is fighting for her third consecutive gold medal in wheelchair fencing. After contracting meningitis as a child, doctors amputated her legs and forearms to save her life.

Brazil are unbeaten in blind soccer since the first tournament in Athens in 2004, but France are holding out hope for an upset. The hosts kick off against China, with Brazil playing Turkey on September 1, a day before the teams meet for a potentially decisive Group A match.

And there are more storylines.

Visually impaired Italian sprinter Valentina Petrillo is the first transgender woman to compete in the Paralympic Games. On September 2, she will compete in the heats for her ranking in the women’s 400 meters.

American swimmer Ali Truwit is competing a year after losing her lower leg to a shark attack while snorkeling.

Teenage swimmer David Kratochvil is holding out Czech hopes for a medal after losing his eyesight to a serious illness about 10 years ago. Kratochvil, 16, used to play ice hockey but switched to swimming, where he set world records in the 50- and 200-meter backstroke last year.

There will be many more who will have to wait the next two weeks to hear it.