Hong Kong-born martial arts actor Jackie Chan has been named as one of the torchbearers leading up to the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Paris, the organising committee announced on Sunday.
Jackie Chan, 70, famed for his stunts and acrobatic fight scenes, will carry the flame on Wednesday afternoon in the French capital, just hours before the opening ceremony.
French actress Elsa Zylberstein and dancer/choreographer Benjamin Millepied will also participate in the torch relay.
Like the Olympic opening ceremony, Wednesday’s event will take place outside the Stade de France, featuring a parade down the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde in central Paris.
The flame, lit on Saturday in Stoke Mandeville, UK—the historic birthplace of the Paralympic Games—arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel on Sunday, carried by wheelchair fencing medalist Emmanuelle Assmann.
French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, who welcomed the flame alongside organising committee head Tony Estanguet, said, “It’s all about inscribing sport in the hearts of people with disabilities.”
The flame will continue its journey, being “multiplied” into 12 Paralympic flames. These flames will be carried by 1,000 torchbearers across around 50 towns in 12 simultaneous relays, converging on Paris for the opening ceremony on Wednesday.
