With the Olympics now over, Paris is getting ready to host the Paralympic Games. The organizing committee president says the opening ceremony on August 28 will be "spectacular."

As the Olympics' opening ceremony was, the kick-off event will be staged outside the confines of a stadium -- a first for the Paralympics.

The International Paralympic Committee expects up to 65,000 spectators to watch the event. The parade will travel through the Champs-Elysees to the Place de la Concorde.

Organizing committee president Tony Estanguet told reporters on Monday that the ceremony will be quite extraordinary and "very spectacular."

Estanguet stressed that the event will be held on a massive scale. He said 5,000 athletes and officials will take part, along with 140 dancers, some of whom have disabilities.

The President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee Marie-Amelie Le Fur said people with and without disabilities will create the ceremony.

She said, "The idea is not to erase or smooth over differences, but to learn to live with them." Le Fur won a silver medal in the long jump at the Tokyo Paralympics.

The Paris Paralympics will he held over 12 days through September 8.