The Paralympics 2024 live stream will see the world’s greatest para athletes battle it out over 11 days in Paris — and you can watch it from anywhere with a VPN and potentially for free!
The opening ceremony will be held outdoors for the first time in paralympic history. It's starts at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT / 7 p.m. BST on Wednesday (that's 4 a.m. AEST on Thursday) and director Thomas Jolly will be praying for Parisien sunshine.
An estimated 4,400 athletes – including 224 from Team USA – will compete for 549 medals across 22 sports. The venue next to the Eiffel Tower, which hosted beach volleyball during the Olympics, will host blind soccer, while the para equestrian events will take place at Château de Versailles.
Most sports – para basketball, sitting volleyball, shooting, wheelchair tennis, para athletics, etc – will be familiar to viewers. However, the Paralympics boasts two sports that don't have an Olympic counterpart: goalball and boccia.
Look out for American para swimmer Jessica Long, who will be hoping to add to her tally of 29 paralympic medals. And, of course, you won't want to miss the wheelchair rugby – the sport that inspired the 2005 movie "Murderball".
Read on for our complete guide on how to watch Paralympics 2024 live and on TV from anywhere.
Where to watch Paralympics 2024 for FREE
Australian viewers looking to enjoy every moment of the 2024 Paris Paralympics are in luck as the entire festival of sport will be broadcast for FREE across Channel 9 and 9Gem. You can also watch for free on the 9Now streaming service.
British viewers are in luck too, as every event of the 2024 Paralympics 2024, will be shown for free across the Channel 4 and More4 TV channels, the Channel 4 streaming service, and the Channel 4 YouTube channel.
Additional free-to-air coverage of the Paris Paralympics can be found in Canada (CBC Gem) and New Zealand (TVNZ Plus). However, these networks won’t be showing every single event.
What's more, every event of the 2024 Paralympics will be live streamed on the Paralympics YouTube channel in countries where the Games aren't being shown by a major broadcaster.
If you’re normally in one of these countries but won’t be during the Paris Paralympics, you don’t have to miss out thanks to one of the best VPNs. These allow you to watch your go-to streaming wherever you are in the world. Our favorite is NordVPN.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 from anywhere
If you're not in your home country during Paralympics 2024 and are unable to live stream from wherever you are, you can still tune in via a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN makes it appear like you're surfing the web from your home allowing you to access the streaming services you already pay for. It's legal and easy to do.
We've tested many different VPN services and our favorite is NordVPN; it offers superb speeds, excellent customer service and a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out first to see if it's right for you. But you've got other VPN options too, so check out our full list of the best VPN services.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.S. and want to view your usual U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Channel 4 and watch the Paralympics live online.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 in the U.S.
The U.S. is set to host the Paralympics and Olympics in 2028, with Los Angeles, California confirmed as the host city, but to enjoy this year’s Paralympics held in Paris, France, viewers in America are going to be relying on NBCUniversal, which will be broadcasting the Opening Ceremony on USA. These may be included with your cable package.
However, your best option is NBC’s streaming service Peacock as it’s set to live stream every event at the Paris Paralympics, promising to offer a daily recap with highlights of all the biggest medal-winning moments. To tune in, you'll need either a Premium subscription ($7.99/month) or Premium Plus ($13.99/month, which also gets rid of some ads).
Cord-cutters can opt for Sling TV. The Sling Blue package starts at $40 per month and gives you access to more than 30 channels including NBC (in select markets), USA and MSNBC. Or you could go for Fubo. Its Pro Plan costs $79.99 per month, though you get 121 channels for that hefty investment, including all the NBC channels showing Paralympics 2024 events.
If you're outside the U.S. but have one of these subscriptions, you can watch the Paralympics 2024 using a VPN such as NordVPN.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 in the UK
Viewers in the U.K. are amongst the luckiest in the world, as every event of the 2024 Paralympics is being shown for free.
The Channel 4 and More4 TV channels will have rolling coverage through each day of the action, with live streaming available via the Channel 4 platform.
However, comprehensive Paralympics coverage will come courtesy of the Channel 4 YouTube channel, which will have up to 18 concurrent live feeds running at a time.
All sounds great, right? But if you're not in the U.K., you can still follow the Paralympics by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 in Canada
Paralympics coverage in Canada is being provided by CBC, with many events being live-streamed for free on CBC Gem.
CBC Gem is a free platform, but you can pay $5.99 per month (7-day free trial) to remove some advertisements and gain access to the service’s on-demand library. However, if you can tolerate commercials, you can enjoy most of Paralympics 2024 for free.
If you’re a Canadian stuck abroad and want to access your regular service, you can use a VPN such as NordVPN to make your device believe it's back home in Canada.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 in Australia
In Australia, every single Paralympic event is being broadcast for free across Channel 9 and 9Gem, with online live streams available via 9Now.
Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN like NordVPN to watch all the action on 9Now as if you were back home.
If you want to watch the Paralympic Games 2024 in 4K in Australia, then you'll need Stan Sport. It offers ad-free coverage of every session of every Paralympic sport with the Stan Sport add-on for $15. You will also need the Stan Premium base plan, which is $21 per month.
How to watch Paralympics 2024 in New Zealand
Free-to-air TVNZ is the exclusive Paralympics broadcaster in New Zealand, with live streaming available via the TVNZ Plus platform.
Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow Paralympics 2024 by using one of the best VPN services, such as NordVPN.
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Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
