Channel 4 Backs Major Campaign to Get Every Body Moving

14 August 2024

Channel 4 has teamed up with ParalympicsGB to launch a major, on-air campaign to encourage disabled people across the UK to take up a sport and become more active, ahead of the Paris Paralympic Games.   

The campaign – which will run across Channel 4 channels from August 28 during the Paris Paralympics Opening Ceremony and throughout its extensive free to air coverage of the Games – will drive viewers to the Every Body Moves initiative, a project run by ParalympicsGB in partnership with Toyota to link disabled people with inclusive opportunities to be active in their local area. 

Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics will promote the campaign by featuring an on-screen QR code at least four times a day with guidance on how viewers can use it. Anyone who scans the QR code on a smartphone will be directly to the Every Body Moves website where viewers can find opportunities to be active locally or at home. The screening of the QR code will also be supported by studio discussion about the project and features profiling the work and participants.  

On the Every Body Moves portal, visitors can enter their postcode and the site will show a range of inclusive sports and activities in their area. 

The site makes it easy for people to identify and try out local groups across a full range of sport and physical activity opportunities, supporting more active lifestyles and also bringing people together, helping mental well-being, and fostering communities. The site includes details of thousands of clubs, activities and events across the UK.

Seven-time Paralympic Champion Hannah Cockroft said: “Campaigns like Every Body Moves are so important because we digest so many things on social media and in the media, but you still don’t see that many disabled people included. You don’t see someone like you. I still visit schools where disabled children are being told they can’t do sport, they can’t take part in P.E. That was what I was told growing up and look what I’ve gone on to achieve. It terrifies me that there are still young people out there being told that, it’s such a damaging narrative.

“Campaigns like Every Body Moves show that everybody can do something. There is a sport or activity that everyone can enjoy. You don’t have to be a Paralympic champion, all that matters is having fun and being active. 

David Clarke Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB said: “We are delighted to team up with Channel 4 to help get Every Body Moving. The Every Body Moves platform makes it easy for disabled people across the UK to find sports clubs and activities that work for them. We hope we can help support the grass roots sports clubs that have often been the training grounds for our elite Paralympic athletes as well as open up a wealth of activities to all disabled people regardless of their age or abilities. 

“Sport and activities don’t just help with our physical health, the support, friendship and sense of community hundreds of groups across the UK offer can make a huge difference to our emotional and mental well-being so I’d urge people to give Every Body Moves a try.” 

Channel 4’s Head of Sport Pete Andrews said: “We want to help disabled people of all ages get engaged in and feel the benefit of sport and exercise. The best way to know what local sports clubs and activities are open to you is to input your postcode on ParalympicsGB’s Every Body Moves website.”

Racing driver turned commentator Billy Monger, who will be presenting Channel 4’s Breakfast Show during the Paralympics, said: “Every Body Moves is such a good campaign, it's all about just inclusivity, getting everyone involved in sport. I know what sport’s done for me and how it's helped change my life for the better, I’m hoping it would do the same for more people.

Former rugby player Ed Jackson, who will be presenting athletics coverage from the Paris Paralympics, urged people to take a moment to find out more about Every Body Moves, and said: “Every Body Moves is such an amazing initiative because sport and movement is obviously so important for our physical and mental health. So check out the website, find those local clubs and get involved!”

Channel 4 has been official broadcaster of the Paralympic Games since 2012 which was instrumental in changing public perception around disability and disability sport.

 

 

ENDS 

For more details contact Tim English, Channel 4 Corporate Communications Group PR Manager, at TEnglish@Channel4.co.uk or Rachel Owbridge, Channel 4 Corporate Press Officer, at ROwbridge@Channel4.co.uk

Notes to Editors

About ParalympicsGB and Every Body Moves

ParalympicsGB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Paralympic Team competing at the summer and winter Paralympic Games. The outstanding performances of ParalympicsGB athletes have a powerful impact on the British public and can shift perceptions of disability in society, helping to inspire a better world for disabled people. 

Every Body Moves, powered by Toyota, is led and developed by ParalympicsGB. It is the go-to platform to discover inclusive opportunities to become more active locally or at home. Its ambition is to create the UK’s largest community for players, parents and coaches to share their experiences, find useful tips and information on what’s happening near them. 

Its philosophy and that there’s a sport or activity out there for everybody and its mission is to champion inclusion and empower more disabled people to become active.

 

About Channel 4

Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.

The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For more than 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.

With a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with hundreds of creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.

In 2024, Channel 4 launched its Fast Forward strategy to accelerate its transformation into an agile and genuinely digital-first public service streamer by 2030. It is designed to ensure Channel 4 embraces the generational shift in TV viewing, elevates its impact across the UK and stands out in a crowded market.

From its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is fully committed to harnessing the power of its regional structure to increase its impact across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions. 4Skills invests £5m in training, development and learning opportunities annually and this will double to £10m by 2025.

Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 43 Oscar wins and 97 BAFTA wins in its history.