Two Years to Change Perception of Disability Sport

9 August 2010

• Broadcaster commits to over 150 hours of live coverage of London 2012 Paralympic Games
• Weekend of programming dedicated to the Paralympic Games to coincide with Two Years to Go
• Bold marketing campaign to challenge public attitudes towards disability sport
• Investing £500,000 in finding and training disabled presenting talent

With its unparalleled commitment to coverage and innovative approach to disability sport Channel 4 today unveiled plans to help make the London 2012 Paralympic Games the most watched and talked about Paralympic Games ever.

On August 29th 2010 it is exactly two years to the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.  To mark this milestone, Channel 4 will screen a weekend of dedicated programming, promoted with a marketing campaign which aims to challenge public attitudes towards disability sport.

The London 2012 Paralympic Games will be the biggest event in Channel 4's history, defining the channel for the entire year.  As the official UK broadcaster, Channel 4 will treat the Paralympic Games as the main event, not a sideshow to the Olympic Games.  We will spend the next two years filming Paralympians as you have never seen them before and, come Games time will launch one of Channel 4's largest ever marketing campaigns, completely rebranding the channel and committing the same level of on-air marketing to the London 2012 Paralympic Games that the BBC gave to the 2008 Olympic Games

The August Bank Holiday weekend will see Channel 4's first raft of special programming hitting screens, the highlight of which is a documentary to be broadcast on Sunday 29 August, Inside Incredible Athletes.  The programme will profile seven athletes, all of whom are hoping to represent ParalympicsGB in 2012, and will feature stunning sporting performance sequences, filmed against a backdrop of iconic locations around London showing Paralympic sport as it has never been seen before.

Inside Incredible Athletes will be promoted by an ambitious marketing campaign which aims to challenge perceptions of disability sport and encourage the audience to question their own prejudices.  The marketing campaign, called Freaks of Nature, features five of the athletes talking about their extraordinary ability and how this sets them apart from the rest of us.   The campaign will begin with an on-air trail broadcast across the Channel 4 Network from Sunday 15th August and will conclude with full-page print adverts, which will be published in the sports sections of national newspapers across the bank holiday weekend.

Julian Bellamy, Channel 4's Acting Chief Creative Officer, said: "Channel 4 sees the London 2012 Paralympic Games as an opportunity to bring about a fundamental shift in perceptions of disability in the UK, and Inside Incredible Athletes perfectly encapsulates this. This beautiful and insightful documentary examines the athletes' phenomenal ability and films them performing in ways that have never been seen before.  The Freaks of Nature marketing trail is part of a bold campaign that portrays Paralympians as Channel 4 feels they should be seen - supremely talented athletes who, like their able bodied sporting counterparts, are set apart from the rest of us by their staggering ability, not their disability.  And this reflects our ambitions for our coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games themselves - encouraging viewers to focus on the awe-inspiring ability on display throughout."

The bank holiday weekend will also see the first episode of That Paralympic Show - a brand new, 10-week magazine series about all things relating to Paralympic Sport alongside highlights from the IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven (with the Finals streamed live on Channel 4's dedicated website channel4.com/paralympics).  And, supporting this diverse range of programming, T4 will be based next to the ParalympicsGB Training Camp for the entire weekend, featuring live music, features, and interviews with Paralympic athletes, who will be dropping by in between their arduous training sessions.

The weekend will also mark the launch of a nationwide search for disabled talent.  Working closely with Sunset & Vine and IMG Sports Media, Channel 4 will trawl the country to identify disabled sports reporters and commentators to be part of the team covering the London 2012 Paralympic Games as well as other on-screen talent covering all of Channel 4's broadcast output.  Channel 4 is also announcing it has committed £500,000 to training disabled presenting talent over the next two years in order to reach our target of 50% disabled onscreen talent during the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The search for the next generation of disabled presenting talent will also be echoed by Channel 4's dedicated website, www.channel4.com/paralympics.  The website, which goes live on Thursday 12th August, will showcase a number of Paralympic hopefuls via blogs, vlogs, Twitter feeds and Facebook groups, building fan bases and awareness of ParalympicsGB and their events.  Designed, built and managed by Zone and Public Zone, the website will allow Channel 4 to make the Paralympic Games even more open, accessible and exciting than ever before.

Finally, Channel 4 confirms it has commissioned a landmark 10-part documentary series to be broadcast in 2011.  Produced by Twofour, Hidden Heroes (w/t) is a peak-time documentary series following the extraordinary journeys of disabled sportsmen and women as they battle to become stars of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. 

Julian Bellamy added: "The London 2012 Paralympic Games promises to be one of the most exhilarating sporting events ever broadcast and we want our viewers to feel part of this incredible spectacle.  Too often the Paralympic Games has been made to feel like an after-thought and we are determined to change this.  By broadcasting peak-time programming produced in an innovative, thought-provoking and entertaining way over the next two years, we believe we can really engage the public in Paralympic sport and give ParalympicsGB the attention and credibility they deserve."