The Winter Paralympic Games
Every four years, the Paralympic Games are held directly following the Winter Olympic Games. This year, they are being held in Beijing, taking place from March 4th through the 13th. Approximately 600 of the world’s best Paralympic athletes will compete in 78 different events across six sports in two disciplines (snow sports and ice sports).
When the athletes hit the slopes in just a few weeks, a UK news station, Channel 4, will provide coverage of the entire games with the first team of anchors and commentators consisting entirely of individuals with disabilities. In what is being described as a “global first” for a world-class sporting event, the network’s team is made up of former Paralympic champions and participants.
The president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, praised the channel as “a world-leading organization in disability inclusion.” Parsons continued to state “this latest landmark decision is important because representation matters. There are over 15 percent of persons in Great Britain with a disability and they should be able to switch on a TV and see wonderfully ordinary persons with disabilities like them in front of the camera.”
This is the start, for not only Channel 4’s commitment, but hopefully other organizations across the world to provide opportunities for people with disabilities and making media output truly representative of the entire population.
When the athletes hit the slopes in just a few weeks, a UK news station, Channel 4, will provide coverage of the entire games with the first team of anchors and commentators consisting entirely of individuals with disabilities. In what is being described as a “global first” for a world-class sporting event, the network’s team is made up of former Paralympic champions and participants.
The president of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Andrew Parsons, praised the channel as “a world-leading organization in disability inclusion.” Parsons continued to state “this latest landmark decision is important because representation matters. There are over 15 percent of persons in Great Britain with a disability and they should be able to switch on a TV and see wonderfully ordinary persons with disabilities like them in front of the camera.”
This is the start, for not only Channel 4’s commitment, but hopefully other organizations across the world to provide opportunities for people with disabilities and making media output truly representative of the entire population.
Resources: https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/paralympics
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/07/sport/channel-4-paralympics-presenters-intl-scli-gbr-spt/index.html
https://www.paralympic.org/beijing-2022
