Paralympic History: From Integration in Sport to Social Inclusion (1948- 2024)

The Paralympic Games were first held in the mid-20th century and have gone from strength to strength, changing the way we see and think about people with disabilities. 

The "Paralympic History" exhibition will look at those who, through their roles within the Paralympic movement, have shaped a history based on pride in difference and demands for a more inclusive society.

The exhibition echoes the great men and women who are buried in the Panthéon and whose defence of the values of the French republic is seen to deserve official recognition from their country; notably including Louis Braille, the inventor of the tactile writing system.

Combining archives, posters, photographs, sports equipment, artefacts and audiovisual documents, the exhibition highlights the gradual integration of athletes with a variety of disabilities, on the one hand, and the changes in the discourse, images and materials associated with competitive sport, on the other.

Curators: Anne Marcellini and Sylvain Ferez 
Scientific advisor: Pierre-Olaf Schut
 

Ensuring the accessibility of the exhibition and its contents to all audiences, and to those with disabilities in particular, is an issue of vital importance. 

The staging has been designed to ensure a comfortable visit for everyone, with furniture at the right height, screens at the right angle and sufficient room to move around. 

It will include seated consultation stations for listening to audio content (sound portraits of athletes and texts from the exhibition read aloud), as well as an area for watching videos in French Sign Language and International Sign Language.

A multi-sensory route will be available throughout the exhibition, interspersed with tactile drawings and artefacts to touch and accompanied by captions in Braille and large print. 

Audio description content will be available via easy-tofind QR codes. 

The exhibition texts will be translated in videos in French Sign Language (LSF) and International Sign (IS) language that can be accessed via QR codes throughout the exhibition and on a special screen. 

All audiovisual material will be subtitled in French and English. 

A booklet to accompany your visit in easy-to-read and understand French (FALC) is available to visitors on request from reception. 

A virtual tour of the monument’s crypt will be offered alongside the exhibition on a consultation device suitable for use by those with reduced mobility.