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July 26, 2024
British broadcaster Channel 4’s latest Paris 2024 Paralympic Games campaign film wants to redefine disability sport. Titled ‘Considering What?’, it challenges people to view Paralympians as elite, world-class athletes and not as competitors “overcoming” their disabilities. The Paralympic Games will start on August 28.
Disability sports get much less media coverage, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics generating more than ten times the coverage despite the 2020 Paralympics being the most broadcasted Paralympic Games ever. In the UK, for every one article written about the Paralympics, there were seven produced about the Olympics, even though Team GB Paralympics won 124 medals and Team GB Olympics won 65. Media coverage is important in fueling inclusivity and therefore these statistics contribute to 67% of UK adults not being able to name a single competitive or retired disabled athlete.
The 2024 Paralympic Games are set to be the biggest ever broadcast on Channel 4 with over 1,300 hours of live sport airing for free across all its platforms. The campaign comes after research commissioned by Channel 4 showed that 60% of people said they watch the Paralympics to “see athletes overcoming their disabilities,” whereas only 37% said they watch it for “exciting sporting competition.”
The film depicts Paralympians facing and overcoming forces such as gravity, friction and time – elements that make no exception for any athlete, regardless of disability. “As we show Paralympians battling against the very real forces of our world, forces that don’t distinguish between any of us, we wanted to highlight the pure power and energy of world-class athleticism. Because at the end of the day, sport doesn’t care about disability. Paris, we’re coming for you,” said Katie Jackson, Chief Marketing Officer at Channel 4.
Paralympics Great Britain athletes starring in the campaign include Aaron Phipps, Dame Sarah Storey, Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker, Joseph Lane, Emma Wiggs, Olivia Broome and Alfie Hewett. A corresponding out of home advertising campaign will go live across the UK starting August 12. ‘Considering What?’ evolved from Channel 4’s award-winning Superhumans campaign, which also redefined disability sport and reached more than 48 million people globally.
Source: International Paralympic Committee
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