Channel 4 reveals ambitions for 2012 London Paralympic Games

14th August 2010

With only weeks from the moment which will mark two years until the start of the 2012 Paralympic Games,  Channel 4 will begin its coverage of the games to coincide with this important landmark, this August Bank Holiday.

The highlight of the weekend's coverage is a feature length documentary to be broadcast on Sunday 29th August, Inside Incredible Athletes.  The programme profiles five athletes who 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.

The bank holiday weekend will also see the first episode of That Paralympic Show - a brand new, 10-week magazine series about all things Parasport 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.

To promote Inside Incredible Athletes, Channel 4 is launching a bold and ambitious marketing campaign which aims to challenge public attitudes towards disability sport.  The campaign, which involves an on-air trail as well as print adverts in the sporting press, is entitled ‘Freaks of Nature', and features athletes at the top of their game - including Liz Johnson, Stefanie Reid, Steve Brown, Mandip Sehmi, David Clarke and Lee Pearson - talking about their achievements and talents which set them apart from the rest of us. 

The campaign portrays Paralympians as Channel 4 feels they should be - highly trained, elite athletes who are brilliant in their chosen sports, not because of their disability, but because of their phenomenal talent, dedication and will to win. It deliberately uses language which is regularly applied to outstanding non-disabled athletes (including Lionel Messi, Jonny Wilkinson, Jessica Ennis, Muttiah Muralitharan, to name a few) and asks the audience to think twice about their perceptions of Paralympians and understand the extraordinary abilities (both mental and physical) that Paralympians develop through their fierce commitment to their sport.

The athletes featured in Inside Incredible Athletes and Paralympian are medal-winners Ade Adepitan and Danny Crates,  who are excited by the campaign which will set the tone for Channel 4's coverage over the next two years.