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Thousands of the world's best para-athletes are in Paris for the 2024 Paralympics.

There are 22 different sports to compete in, across many different classifications, and there are hundreds of medals up for grabs.

The Paralympic Games have a huge history - did you know it actually started here in the UK?

Let's learn all about it.

Beginnings - Stoke Mandeville, 1948

In 1948, a man called Sir Ludwig Guttman was working as a very important doctor in Stoke Mandeville in England.

He had opened the UK's first ever spinal injuries unit. He worked with a lot of soldiers who had been injured in the Second World War, and believed that sport would be good for his patients' physical and mental health.

Guttman organised the first wheelchair games in 1948, the same year that London was hosting the Olympics. It wasn't called the Paralympics though, at the time it was called the Stoke Mandeville Games, because of where it was held.

There was only one event - archery.

International recognition - 1952 onwards

Four years later, in 1952, the Stoke Mandeville Games went international. A team of Dutch servicemen joined to compete.

The Games then gained more recognition overseas, and more and more countries began to bring athletes to compete in different para-sports.

The first official games - 1960

In 1960, the first official Paralympic Games took place in Rome. There were 400 athletes, from 23 different countries.

Sixteen years later, the Games had an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony.

In 1976, the first Winter Paralympic Games were held in Sweden.

Now and the future

Paris 2024 is going to see the biggest number of competitors in a Paralympic Games.

People from over 150 different countries are going to take part.

After Paris, the next Paralympic Games will be held in Los Angeles in the USA.