Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Evaluating the impact and significance of the 2024 Paralympics

In this episode, I evaluate the impact and significance of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. I speak to key individuals who attended the event to get their perspective of the Games and to appraise the 2024 Paralympics. I consider the aims of the Paris Paralympics, the accessibility of the event, and what it was like to be in the stadiums and arenas during the Games. I appraise the quantity and quality of the media coverage. The sport participation legacy of the Paris Games is considered and debated, followed by a final assessment of impact and significance of the event for the development and future of the Paralympics. 

Join me for a thorough and in-depth review of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games!

Thanks for listening to the Disability Sport Info show!

Transcript

Paris 2024 Paralympic Games: Evaluating the impact and significance of the 2024 Paralympics

[00:00:30] Dr Chris Brown: Welcome to the Disability Sport Info show. This episode will evaluate the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. I will be investigating a number of different features of the Games to understand the impact and significance of Paris to the Paralympic Movement. To assess the event, I spoke to a number of guests who were at the Paralympics, to get their perspective and lived experiences of the Paris Paralympics. 

First, some context and background information about the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Paris originally bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and, to many, were considered the favourites to be awarded the Games. Famously, however, the 2012 Games went to London, not Paris. London beat Paris 54 votes to 50 to land the 2012 Games. The promise of a legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was seen as being a crucial factor in swinging the vote London’s way. 

In 2017, Paris was officially confirmed as the host of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, bringing an end to their wait to host the Olympic Games for the third time and 100 years since Paris last staged the event. 2024 was the first time in Paris’ history that they hosted the Summer Paralympic Games. 

The Paralympic Games is seen as having the potential for social change. There is significant debate within the literature within the literature and community whether this ideal is supported or not, but the claims persist, nonetheless. My first guest, Dr Ian Brittain from Coventry University, is a Paralympic Games expert, having been to numerous Paralympics and written the acclaimed book, Paralympic Games Explained.

[00:02:00] Dr Ian Brittain: The Paralympics really does have an aim. I'm not saying it achieves it, but it has an aim of a very specific targeted social legacy. 

[00:02:13] Dr Chris Brown: For Paris, accessibility, greater involvement in sport for disabled people, and sustainability, were key areas of their focus for making the most of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Dr. Ian Brittain has cast doubt on whether legacy was really part of the planning and preparation for the Paris Paralympics.

[00:02:46] Dr Ian Brittain: I guess I've got to be careful what I say here because maybe it's just hubris, but in the lead up to all of the previous Paralympic Games, generally I get loads and loads of contact requests and, you know, interview requests from researchers, from journalists, et cetera.

I think in the lead up to Paris, I had maybe five in the two years previous to Paris. Now, you know, maybe you know the new young guns like yourself that they're going to those places now and thinking I'm old hat. But it did surprise me. And, and you know, from the sort of information that was coming out of Paris and the organising committee, I really didn't get any feel or sense that they had that much interest in any particular sort of social legacy in a wider context.

It was all about putting the Games on and if they did focus on anything, it was on sport and access to sport for disabled people. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing; because it's not. But, to me, it's not really what the Paralympic Games are all about now.

There's a much wider remit to be fulfilled, and I really don't feel that they really made any attempt to do that. I think probably the best example of that is the metro system in Paris. You know, two years ago Inside the Games wrote an article saying, you know, Paris is in danger of missing an opportunity here. And, you know, it was really interesting sort of five days into the Games, we suddenly get this press announcement that, I can't remember the lady's name, but, she's sort of a regional mayor of the Île-de-France area saying, oh, we are going to spend, I think it was 30 billion or 20 billion euros over the next 20 years making the metro system accessible. Now, I don't know if that was just to shut the press up and close down that negative line or whether that will actually occur.

I'm not a 100% convinced that it was a genuine piece of policy and legislation that they were actually going to enact. I think it was about closing down the negative press they were receiving at the time. 

[00:05:31] Dr Chris Brown: Before the Games, Paris invested over 125 million euros to improve accessibility across the city. This included upgrades to sports facilities, public buildings and transportation networks. 

Dr Laura Misener is a professor at Western University, Canada, and is an expert on Paralympic legacy and on the potential for mega sport events, like the Paralympics, to achieve social change. Dr Misener was at the Paris Paralympics and discussed some of the accessibility measures put in place for the Games 

[00:06:01] Dr Laura Misener: Yeah, I think that there's some things to highlight that they've done well and some things that we'll just have to wait and see on. So certainly, from a venue perspective, I think that they've done some really good work around maintaining or using venues that they had existing and sort of repurposing those venues.

So that they were durable for the long term of events but doing upgrades. You know, a lot of those venues didn't have any accessibility features at all because the requirements don't have the same level in France as they do, say, in the UK. So that was an opportunity that they really highlighted, which means they can elevate some of the opportunities for disability sport in those spaces.

Also the creation of new zones in the area of Saint-Denis, which is really focused on disability and a specific venue that is for athletes with a disability and those who want to participate recreationally. And so I think that's a key piece that we will see moving forward in terms of creation of new opportunities, 

[00:06:54] Dr Chris Brown: Notwithstanding those initiatives and the fact that 17 hyper accessible neighbourhoods were developed to ensure essential services and facilities within a 15 minute walk for everyone, there were still concerns about the accessibility of the city for the games, particularly around the metro system. 

[00:07:09] Dr Ian Brittain: In the sort of month before the Games, they really started to get lambasted amongst the press about the lack of accessibility of the Paris metro system. You know, and I saw it firsthand. I'm not disabled, but

I flew into Charles de Gaulle and then had to get to my hotel, taking a suitcase with me. And the number of stairs I had to lump that suitcase up and down to get to my hotel was, you know, even I was completely dog tired by the time I got to my hotel. And I saw lots of other people struggling, old age pensioners with shopping baskets and other tourists with suitcases, et cetera.

[00:07:52] Dr Laura Misener: You know, there was a lot of critique about things like, well, the metro system is still not accessible. Yeah, it's not. But if you ride the metro system and you see how old it is, you can understand the challenge of being able to do that. Now, they've committed to making that system accessible in the coming years with some of the funds that have come in as a result of the legacy programming.

So we will see that's sort of those ones. Okay, let's wait and see. 

[00:08:17] Dr Chris Brown: Even with those mitigations in place for the transport system, there were still some easy wins that were not capitalised on for increasing the accessibility of Paris before the Games. 

[00:08:26] Dr Laura Misener: Some of the accessibility features I think remain a challenge.

There still are sort of backdoor entrances, you know, signage that's really hard to find. For me, and probably you living in the UK, one thing that always is highlighted for me every time I go, is I go in, you know, you go to the crosswalk and you push a button to go across the street. It's like ingrained in us now that we hear a hear a signal because that's the nature of accessibility. And that doesn't exist in most of Paris. 

And that was one of the things I was kind of surprised about, like, it's a basic one, just, that's an easy one to upgrade. So, you know, there's things like that that we were maybe more attentive to because that's what we were looking for.

[00:09:02] Dr Chris Brown: But what about the accessibility of stadiums and arenas, and the experience of accessing and consuming the Paralympics? Ali Jawad is a British Paralympic Powerlifter who has competed at 4 Paralympic Games, winning silver at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Ali was a spectator at the Paris Games this time and reflected on his experience of accessing the venues in Paris. 

[00:09:23] Ali Jawad: The ease of getting into the arenas, especially the accessibility of the arenas, amazing. Couldn’t really fault them. 

[00:09:28] Dr Chris Brown: Yeah. 'Because that was some of the concerns, wasn't it, about Paris? Certainly the transport, it was about accessibility. How did that compare to actually the stadia itself, do you think? 

[00:09:36] Ali Jawad: So, yeah, the transport was sometimes challenging, but I guess what the IPC [International Paralympic Committee] were very transparent with was that this is the start of the change. We are here to help Paris to be more accessible in the future. But, right now, they have invested a lot in the pavements, in the metro system, to try and make it as accessible as possible in the timeframe they had. 

But the stadium itself; amazing. Everywhere I went; very accessible. People knew what they're talking about. Directions were great. Like, I couldn't really fault it. Really, really smooth transitions in between ticketing, all the way up to getting the seat. So yeah, I couldn't really complain. 

[00:10:16] Dr Chris Brown: We've briefly considered accessibility. Some of the challenges, some of the progress that's been made, but what about the experience of the games itself? How successful were the were Paris at staging the Paralympics?

[00:10:30] Dr Laura Misener: Well, so I went into those Games with a little bit of uncertainty about what would things look like. I'd been there a couple of times prior to the Games meeting with some of the committees, talking about, you know, the situation for people with disabilities in France, which was I think a bit different than I had the perception that it was. I think, I thought it was a bit more like the UK and Canada, but in reality, it's quite different. 

And there's a sort of a lack of understanding, a lack of awareness.

So I was not sure when I went into Games time what that would look like. So I would say sort of my first impressions was I was surprised at how much they had done. Like, you know, it's an old city, it's a historic city. There's a lot of challenges in terms of changes to basic infrastructure to be more accessible, to use inclusive language even.

And so that was quite apparent that they had really made an effort. It’s certainly not perfect, and we can talk a bit more about that. But they had really stepped up and made an effort. Some of that is regulations through the IPC and the requirements. Some of it is, no, they actually went the extra mile to try and do something meaningful, 

[00:11:49] Dr Chris Brown: Okay. As a spectator, so you went to the Paralympics, you've been to many different Paralympics as well. How would you reflect on the Paris Paralympics? What are your experiences? 

[00:11:58] Dr Ian Brittain: I think from an in-venue perspective, you know, actually while there were events on and inside the venues, absolutely fantastic.

You know, the crowds were amazing. You know, there was some absolutely fantastic sport. I was lucky enough to see Matt Stutzman's 149 out of 150, you know, which even non-disabled archers would be absolutely over the moon with. And I particularly remember being in the basketball venue and it was one of the sort of finals days and one of the first finals had a French competitor in it, and just before that started, the whole crowd sang La Marseillaise and it just, the hairs on the back of your neck came up. You know, it was really, really a fabulous environment. They were very, very raucous and rowdy in a positive way. Particularly, obviously if there was a French athlete participating, but you know, generally just a really, really good atmosphere in the venues. 

[00:13:01] Dr Laura Misener: The French fans were crazy. It was outstanding.

Like so amazing. They were just like, I don't think there was any venue that I went to that didn't have stands full of people and that were going wild for what was happening on the field of play. Whether they totally understood it or not, it was like outstanding crowds. So that was like, from a fan perspective, that was super cool to see.

[00:13:23] Dr Chris Brown: How did Paris achieve such great atmospheres? Here's Dr. Laura Meisner discussing some of the examples of the initiatives that Paris used to try and create that fantastic atmosphere. 

[00:13:32] Dr Laura Misener: There's sort of this interesting juxtaposition about like when the Olympic Games, for the most part is quite inaccessible to the average spectator, the local community or the family that wants to go watch, you know, an Olympic event, the tickets are too expensive. It's a real challenge to even get them if you can afford them. So, that's the big problem. Whereas in the Paralympic Games, you saw families there, you know, local families coming together all with flags. They were giving out French flags. When you walked into each of the venues, you could choose a section in the stands.

So if you wanted to be with other French spectators or other spectators from the Netherlands, you could choose that as well. It's not uncommon to be done at events, but it is something meaningful that it brought people together in this opportunity to celebrate. And so, you know, you would often see in the stadiums or in the venues, them going to where the French fans were and there would be massive celebrations and flags and signage of athletes, you know and there was a lot of that going on. And so I think that was something that was really done the extra mile. 

I was really lucky with a colleague of mine to be able to visit Club France, which is the French home, the house that they set up during the Games, and did a fabulous job of celebrating athletes, but also showcasing all the sports that were going on.

So you could go there, you could try wheelchair fencing, you could try boccia, you could do all these things. You could do some virtual reality things. But then there was this massive catwalk where they brought athletes out on the stage and the fans were just. It was a huge party and that was very French of them in many ways.

You know, it was the community that came out and celebrated. I mean, the boccia athletes when they came out on stage and you know, there's thousands and thousands of people going absolutely wild celebrating them. I mean, what an experience for them, something that I don't think they'll ever get to experience again.

So they really stepped up that celebratory element, which I think is so meaningful for them. 

[00:15:34] Dr Chris Brown: One of the ways that event organisers try to create such a great atmosphere is to try and make it like a festival. This is known as the festival effect, where you try to get people swept up in the fervour and the excitement of the event, reducing the need for people to be interested in sport, per se, to celebrate the event. 

To be swept up by the event because it's more than just sport, it is a community activity.

The event is a cultural zeitgeist moment that people don’t want to miss out on because it’s cool and popular in the moment. 

I asked Dr Misener for her viewpoints on how do you how do we create a festival effect and how did Paris try to do that?

[00:16:13] Dr Laura Misener: There are very few opportunities to have this sort of, as you've mentioned, the salubrious celebration, the thing that brings people together, connected, wanting to be, you know, with one another just for the sake of being able to celebrate something. And they did a really good job, I think, of doing that and creating those spaces even in the festival zones. 

Now, the one critique I would really highlight here is part of the research that we were doing there is looking at some of these festival zones, what they looked like is, unfortunately, some of those festival zones shut down during Paralympic Games. They were only till the first week and that was because of schools going back, kids going back to school, summer holidays over. And so those didn't extend for the duration of the Games. So, you know, they lack that, you know, for the first few days they were quite busy. There was a lot of people at them. So again, other places where people, if you didn't have tickets, you could at least still go and celebrate the events.

So, I think they did a really good job in creating those opportunities. 

[00:17:12] Dr Chris Brown: To what extent does the success of the host nation at the Olympic Games influence the success of the Paralympic Games as an event?  I asked my guests for their perspectives.

[00:17:23] Dr Laura Misener: Yeah, I certainly think that was something that it's generally quite important.

I think that they are sort of this pride element that comes along with it, but I also think that there's something to be learned from this because when we elevate athletes in our home country and celebrate that, while there's lots of problems with it, it also creates opportunity to highlight, you know, what there is out there, what can be done and what people are doing.

And so I think that the French fans really saw that, had an opportunity to see that. I'm sure many of the people who were at venues who had never seen boccia played before or you know, goalball, that was totally new to them. And so I think that is meaningful and, that their country did well, like, I think that's a really critical thing.

They did well in track cycling. They, you know, first medal ever in boccia, a gold medal, you know, so for France that was a really important piece. And I think every time a nation hosts, they want to be successful. And so, you know, for them, his was great, and it just helped elevate the experience for athletes.

You know, having come out of Tokyo with no fans, nobody in the stands, then to be in France and to have this, and the level of excitement that was there, I think was a really big piece for the athletes and for the country. 

[00:18:36] Ali Jawad: It's treating both sets of Games equally with the same sort of investment, same sort of know-how, and you can tell that France invested heavily in both at them teams because they had the best Games, I think on record for them, even in the Paralympic Games were very, very good.

It's the best French team I've ever seen. So that also made it successful. But at the same time, you've got things that, you know, the fact that the arenas were packed. The fact that they were actually putting things in place to make it accessible, not only for the short term, for the long term, and also the legacy of the Games means that there could be investment, especially in the Paralympics side, for quite a while now.

I think time will tell, especially when, you know, it's probably two or three Games down the line. See where that investment's ended up. I guess, you know, can the French team inspire the future French Paralympians in the future? I think that's where the key is.

Can, can you create a team? As good or better in the future. And that's what we've done so well as Paralympics GB after London. We've created teams that have probably lasted the test of time and you know, so I think that should be the aim for any host nation. 

[00:19:45] Dr Chris Brown: The London 2012 Paralympic Games is often cited as one of the best, if not the best, Paralympic Games in the history of the summer Paralympics.

So how did Paris compare to London 2012? How did you feel like the locals took to the Games in terms of how they responded and also how they built up the atmosphere? 

[00:20:04] Ali Jawad: Yeah, it's quite weird because it reminded me of 2012. It felt like Paris had just come together. People were happy, people were literally engaging on the street. They're excited. So many kids came to watch as well. 

It was like that London 2012 atmosphere that we experienced, you know, 12 years ago, but in Paris. And I guess they did kind of bid for the 2012 Games, didn't they? And missed out. So for them it's been 12 years of, you know, getting ready for it.

The arenas were packed as well. There wasn't a seat to be had, so it just shows you how much they embraced it and how much they wanted to host it. And I think it was a very successful Games from what I've seen. 

[00:20:41] Dr Laura Misener: I mean, if you're the IPC President, you get to say that this is the best Paralympic Games every time you go, right?

So we heard him say, obviously Paris being the best Paralympic Games. You know, the advantage that Paris had is they learned from London. And there is a lot of similarities in sort of the governance structure that they put together and the work that they did. So, in fact, I think they're really on par with the kind of work that London did and maybe even a bit ahead in some of the technology components.

And I wouldn't say that's a downfall of London. I think there are things that have changed since London, you know, that's 12 years ago. And so there actually have been a lot of advancements in the technology, even the reach of things like the classification system, getting countries who haven't had classifiers, you know, involved in that.

So we had broader reach of that, you know, the technological support for things like, you know, the spectator experience has changed. You know, I was at goalball and I used those pads, those track pads that you follow the play. So for someone who has a visual impairment and isn't watching, they can actually follow the play.

Things like that, which are, you know, examples of the technological inventions and advances that have been made to create better spectator experiences, better engagement of fans, better opportunities. So I don't think there's ever going to be, you know, something like London, but I think Paris is comparable in many ways.

And so part of it is just the advancements in technology, 

[00:22:11] Dr Chris Brown: But Ian and Laura point out the Paralympics often assume a local quality that make them unique and difficult to compare. 

[00:22:17] Dr Ian Brittain: I don’t know. Maybe it seems a strange thing to say, but, you know, there was a sort of a French feel to it in France. But, you know, I remember I was doing some commentary at London 2012 for one of the American networks, and I was in the athletics stadium and trying to answer questions while David Weir was doing the 1500 metre final and winning one of his four gold medals. And, literally, I couldn't hear the guy next to me, even though I had earphones on. 

I guess it fluctuates from Games to Games. I mean, even in Beijing in 2008. The stadiums were packed. Now the methods by which those stadiums were packed, you could question. But they were still packed, you know, and there was still a really good atmosphere. It's not like the old days where it was, you know, one man and his dog and a couple of parents, and that was it for the whole venue. There genuinely is a crowd there to support and enjoy the occasion. And I think that's been true for quite a number of Games now with the obvious exception of Tokyo, where there were no spectators because of Covid.

[00:23:38] Dr Laura Misener: One of the challenges, I think, Chris, in that question is why are we set on comparing them so much instead of looking at them as unique entities and seeing what they can do uniquely for the Games. Because I think in the future we're going to see a real retraction in size eventually, because cities don't want to host this.

Once you've done London, Paris, New York, LA. Like, nobody else wants to host this, that gigantism. So, you know, we might be celebrating an event that actually retracts and does a little bit more compact environment, thinks more about environmental sustainability and social sustainability, and that would be celebrated. But it wouldn't look, on our comparison scale, in the same way to London and Paris. 

[00:24:24] Dr Chris Brown: Let's now consider the media coverage of the Paris Games. First, some context. 

Historically, the Paralympic Games has suffered an imbalance in coverage compared to the Olympics, and the quality and quantity of the coverage that has been received, has been criticised by scholars. It's only in recent times where there has been an improvement in the quantity and, arguably, quality of the media coverage. In the past, Paralympians were sometimes portrayed as infantile or passive in how the media discussed and captured their experiences. 

There was often an excessive focus on the athlete’s impairment and the notion of the Paralympian as a Supercrip. 

The supercrip is the idea of the tragic hero who has overcomes their impairments to be successful. But they are successful in ‘spite’ of their impairment – impairment is therefore perceived in a negative light and something to overcome. The Supercrip has been critiqued for following a medical model of disability and for failing to highlight the sporting ability of the athlete, rather the media coverage is about the impairment and ‘tragedy narrative’, rather than the athlete’s sporting exploits. The supercrip has also been critiqued for othering Paralympians, that is that we place the individual outside the ‘normal’ boundaries of society by labelling them superhumans, for example. 

For host nations new to the Paralympics, there has often been limited coverage of disability sport prior to the nation hosting the Paralympics. 

I caught up with Leo McGuinn, who was a lead presenter for France 24’s English sports channel, for is thoughts on French coverage of disability sport and the Paralympics before the Games. 

[00:25:53] Leo McGuinn: I would, if I'm being totally honest, I'd say media, courage of disability sport in France up until one year before was, non-existent is harsh, probably not non-existent, but almost non-existent. Which for someone who spent a lot of time in the UK was, you know, I think we were, not spoiled, because it is as it should be in the UK, that there's quite a lot more visibility in terms of coverage in the UK compared to France. So it was something that slightly surprised me. 

But then in the year up to the Paralympics is when you really noticed it. Beforehand, it had kind of been non-existent. You did really notice the, you know, the ramping up in coverage. I mean, for example, at France 24, our kind of first coverage of it would've been, we did a special show one year out from the Paralympics, and then we launched an initiative, which was not even within the sports team, but to go out around France, record, create stories that we could use up to and during the Paralympics. So we've got several of them. And then also with France 2, which is one of the national broadcasters here who we have a partnership with. We take a lot of their stuff. They give us a lot of their stuff.

So that you definitely noticed an uptick in content that they were putting out that was disability sport based, but all obviously based around the Paralympics. They started publishing and putting out a lot of profiles on people who would be either attempting or would be competing at the Paralympics. You know, their regional teams did a lot on, you know, local French athletes. Dreams of competing in Paris 2024, that type of thing. 

So I would say up till about the summer of 2023, disability sport wasn't something really, being honest, in the national zeitgeist until maybe a year before the Paralympics.

[00:27:51] Dr Chris Brown: Soody Kim is a freelance photographer who has covered a number of Paralympic sports. Soody is known for his photography work covering Wheelchair Basketball and covered this sport at the Paris games. For photography, Soody highlighted that demand has increased since London 2012.

[00:28:05] Soody Kim: From a photography perspective, yeah, the demand has increased because social media and the demands of social media are here and now.

Whereas when I first started with, like with London, I would do the pictures at the end of the day and send them over to the clients. I'd get one maybe after the game and then they'd get the rest at the end of the day. Now it's two or three at half time. The rest, you know, within an hour of the game ending and then bang, and then bearing in mind, the next game was starting half an hour later.

[00:28:32] Dr Chris Brown: When I put the criticism of the way Paralympians have been portrayed in the media to Soody, he agreed that historically that might have been the case, but that since London 2012, the quality has increased. 

[00:28:42] Soody Kim: I agree that imagery of the past has not always put Paralympians in the best light. 

From London 2012 onwards, things have moved forward a long way. Broadcast is I think learning to present the sport in a more balanced manner including having even ex Paralympians as commentators. So all of that is coming into the mix and helping position the way Paralympics is seen as a set of sports in their own right, rather than a subsidiary secondary set of sports.

I was lucky enough to mentored by an ex GB wheelchair basketball player, Graham Ball, who unfortunately, sadly passed away. He was actually a professional photographer and he taught me a lot about reading the game and understanding the plays and getting the equipment. 

And for game actions, I tend not to focus on disabilities, but rather on the competitive action. The expressions of commitment, celebrations of success, the look of losses, and the softer side, you know, shared jokes between players, either in the same team or opposing teams, because a lot of the players who they compete against in national levels play for teams together in the European professional leagues. There’s also the interaction between the players and officials, all that kind of thing. So I’m looking for all of those kind of images as well as the action shots. 

You know, whether it's a Paralympic sport or an able-bodied sport, it doesn't make a difference. That's the kind of thing I'll be looking at anyway. And I think that is the same for most of the other photographers that are sat round the court. They're looking for key moments of action, key interactions. It's an irrelevance that the person's in a chair or not, you know? I think they're just looking for those moments that really define the activity. 

[00:30:20] Dr Chris Brown: What about the media coverage of the Paralympics themselves? Well, according to figures, the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games achieved the highest level of global broadcast coverage ever with 12,941 hours, a 48% increase compared to Tokyo 2020. The live audience also grew by 40% compared to Tokyo 2020, and by 117% compared to Rio 2016. 

Notwithstanding the increase in the quantity of the coverage of this Paris Games, there was still some questions about the quality of the media coverage 

[00:30:51] Leo McGuinn: In terms of coverage, you know, official coverage, I was slightly disappointed, to be honest.

I did feel like sometimes it was treated as an afterthought. The Paralympics, you know, it was specifically by the national broadcasters because it did feel, you know, at times it was like they put all their eggs into the Olympic basket.  

And, you know, I remember one time sitting with my colleagues, you know, an hour from one of our shows and we're watching, I think it was a hundred metre race, you know, and it was on France 2. As the gun went, you know, it goes to ads, you know, that's just like, you've got to be honest, that wouldn't happen with the Olympics. You know, that's just quite a simple but poor bit of broadcasting. 

But I think from just how the French calendar is kind of laid out. I mean, for people who don't live in France, the attitude in France is August is, you know, the month everyone takes August off. It's such a stereotype; no French people work in August. Obviously, it's not completely true, but you know, that is the stereotype. So the Olympics perfectly fits in there. You know, everyone's off. It's part of the atmosphere. When the Paralympics came around, that’s, you know, September's, you know, known as it's got a name, it's called, La Rentrée, it's when everyone goes back to school, everyone goes back to work. 

So it kind of felt like the Paralympics, at time, in terms of coverage was a little bit of an afterthought, which I thought was a shame.

[00:32:16] Soody Kim: I mean, the, the status of the Games means that the best photographers attend. Okay. One, it's not cheap. And two, there's a bit of a process to go through to get accreditation and, you know, not everybody can just put an application in  and expect it to be successful. It just doesn't work that way.

Comparing the Paralympics to say, European or national level, there is a big gap between the quality of the photographers that turn up because of the size of the audience that's watching the events at Paralympic Games compared to a World Championships, for example. 

From 2012 onwards, as I said, I've seen the visibility of the Paralympics increase significantly, and with that has come the demand for greater imagery of higher quality.

The larger agencies, as I say, are now sending their top photographers who are taking their time to learn about the sports, staying for the whole game or more than one game, rather than just rocking up and taking a few shots and heading off to the next event on the list. And the guys around me when I'm taking the pictures, you know, they know what they're doing. They've done their homework. There is a level of professionalism that maybe hasn’t been there in the past. 

[00:33:22] Dr Chris Brown: It’s certainly true to say there has been a continued increase and uptick in coverage of the Paralympics, with Paris being no exception to this. 

This was the Games where the social media coverage changed, with greater engagement through humour-based content on platforms like TikTok and YouTube helping to present the Paralympics and Paralympians in a different light than in the past. 

However, as Leo pointed out, the coverage is by no means perfect and there needs to be greater focus at marrying up the increase in quantity with quality media coverage. Strides have been taken here, Channel 4 being a good example in the UK, but more needs to be done across other countries and contexts. 

Let’s now consider the potential of the Paris Games to increase the number of disabled people being physically active and participating in sport. Evidence from the literature suggests limited long-term positive uptick in sport participation following the Paralympics. But can Paris be different and achieve a positive sport participation legacy from the Games?

[00:34:19] Dr Laura Misener: But in terms of the legacy, I think there will be an impact on the sport participation level, because there was more visibility of things. And there are more venues and opportunities offering these things. 

The other thing that we've been looking at is the governance structure in France. The governance structure around disability sport is quite fragmented with a number of different organisations working on different aspects. Effects of Parasport, Paralympic sport, disability sport, and then of course all the various disability groups. So this created that opportunity for them to get, come together and actually work together on some really important things to move that movement forward. And so I would say that's something that's going to come up as a really important legacy for them moving forward. And I suspect the trickle on effect of that is you're going to see more French Paralympic athletes be successful over the long term. 

Ultimately, in my work, I would want to see more individuals with disability participating in sport. And if they become successful, that's fine, but this is the part I'd be interested in. And I think that's the part, I'm not sure how that's going to come out. And so we'll have to keep an eye on things. 

[00:35:21] Dr Chris Brown: To what extent will the sport participation legacy be felt outside of Paris? 

[00:35:26] Dr Laura Misener: Yeah, I mean, it's a tricky one to assess. So one of the projects I'm working on with a colleague in France is around a programme that the Paris 2024 Games implemented called, Terre de Jeux. And Terre de Jeux was a programme where basically they gave this label to cities, communities, organisations that wanted to be the land of the Games, represent the Games. That was above and beyond the city of Paris. That was everywhere. There were actually 4,000 places that were given this label to activate on the Games.

We did try and do some work around what was happening, other places, to see how much they capitalised on the event. Interestingly, the couple of places that we did visit during Paralympic Games had nothing going on. There was no activation of Paralympic sport, and so I might be a bit more sceptical about the reach of, you know, the Paralympic Games to do more nationally.

I think that for me, that's always been a challenge. This question, I remember my very first Olympic Academy. I was at the Canadian Olympic Academy and it was pre Vancouver, and there was a discussion that we were all having about whether this was Vancouver's Games, BC's Games, or Canada's Games, and I kept thinking, what does a Games in British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, have to do with people in Newfoundland participating or involved in sport? We're talking a 10 hour flight away, right? So I mean, the idea that it has this broader reach, I am broadly sceptical about that anyway. And even when we try and go in and understand it a bit more, we're seeing that might be more challenging.

I think it has a more localised impact. I'm sure people watched it and enjoyed it, but is there really going to be a legacy in, you know, someplace that's really distant from there? I'm not sure that that's realistic to expect that. 

The one advantage about there being distance is when you watch coverage on tv, in fact, the explanations and descriptions of what's going on in the field of play and, you know, talking about athletes is more robust than what you get in the venue. There were some venues that we were at where there was almost no explanation about what was happening on the field of play, and you could tell there were people around us going, like, what's happening there? Why is this happening, why are those athletes competing against each other and how is this, and you know, I think about swimming as a prime example of that is that, you know, you have a classification where you have athletes with very different impairment types that compete against each other.

And without an explanation of how classification works or why this is coming about, that's really challenging for a spectator to become engaged in that. But the television coverage does a great job of explaining that. And, you know, really engages with the LEXI classification system and, you know, so I think there's some advantages of how you could capitalise on that more in sort of the dispersed regions.

[00:38:35] Dr Chris Brown: London 2012 had legacy at the heart of the Games but it has not led to the desired or wished for increase in sport participation as envisaged as part of the original plans for the Games. So why did London 2012, a great event with plenty of host nation success, not lead to long-term sustainable increased sport participation? 

[00:38:54] Ali Jawad: Having a disability startup like mine, the fitness space has made me realise that there's a lot of talk and no action. 

[00:39:04] Dr Chris Brown: Right. Okay. 

[00:39:05] Ali Jawad: It’s about smoke and mirrors. Good for PR, but not really any meaningful work that's, you know, effective. And I just hope Paris doesn't get to that stage in 12 years’ time, thinking how many disabled people have we actually inspired to get into sport?

And yet again, why are we talking about this 12 years on when the stats are not that great, still? Obviously, the para team has gone from strength to strength, but if you look at it from a community disability fitness level, has it really changed? Not really. 

[00:39:34] Dr Chris Brown: And you said that there's, you know, perhaps some platitudes rather than actual action, but why do you think that is the case then?

So why is there that difficulty converting the thoughts and ideas into meaningful work? 

[00:39:46] Ali Jawad: I think from what I've noticed is that a lot of organisations are all about their image rather than their work. So I'd say that, you know, many fitness providers in the industry would say they're inclusive, they're accessible. They're open to disabled people coming to use their facilities. And then when, you know, when we talk to them about what the centres are really like, they don't really want to implement changes to encourage disabled people to come in because they don't want to make them changes. They think they're costly and they're scared and there's no know-how.

So it's this thing where they want to look accessible and they want to project the image of, you know, accessibility and inclusion, but they're not really, privately. And that's what I found with being a startup that is in that space, talking to these organisations that are supposed to be the ones being accessible.

[00:40:36] Dr Chris Brown: Perhaps, we need to accept that a nigh on 2-week event is going to have limited utility in moving the dial for sport participation. Afterall, what chance does an event every 4 years have of removing deep-seated structural and behavioural challenges that constrain participation? However, the Paralympics can provide the space, if properly thought through and resourced, for targeted action. 

[00:40:57] Dr Ian Brittain: You've hit the nail on the head, but what I would say is they are probably, currently, the one and only media saturated event where you get a seven, or in some cases at the moment, an 11 year window, to start a really genuine discussion about the issues of disability within a particular society.

And I do think you can in that kind of timeframe, particularly if then afterwards you resource a some body, you know, not a body, not an individual, but a body or organisation that can try to continue that work afterwards. I mean, that's always been the big problem is, you know, the Game's finished, six months after the organising committee's gone. There's nobody to keep these ideas and new initiatives going, and they're not funded anymore and they just die. 

Maybe, a bit perversely, we actually try to do too much, and when I say too much, I mean too many different things. So you get that sort of scatter gun effect. Rather than picking, in discussion with disabled people and disabled people's organisations, 

[00:42:26] Dr Chris Brown: And that's an important point, isn't it? 

[00:42:27] Dr Ian Brittain: That is a very important point. But in discussion and collaboration with them, coming up with three, maximum four, really key things that need changing in society. And just focusing all of your efforts, all of your resources on those things.

And I think that potentially may have a bigger impact in the long term rather than just, like I say, this scatter gun effect where you're trying for a hundred different things. You know, economic change, environmental change, attitudinal change, sporting change, you know? Just pick your fights. What are the key things that really need to change?

Because if you can change key issues within society, they tend to have a ripple effect out into some of those other areas that you want to change as well but maybe can't focus on as part of your social legacy program. 

[00:43:34] Dr Chris Brown: Time is the ultimate judge when assessing legacy. When legacy is assessed can lead to different conclusions being made. For example, immediately after and perhaps for up to a year following London 2012, the sport participation legacy may have been viewed positively. But five years after London 2012, the assessment of legacy looked very different as sport participation rates returned to pre-London 2012 levels. 

Ultimately, how consequential will the Paris Paralympics be for the development of the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement?

[00:44:04] Dr Ian Brittain: If in 20 years’ time, the Paris metro system has been completely renovated and made a 100% accessible, or even 99.9% accessible, then that will be a fantastic legacy from Paris. Because, actually, Paris would, you could make the claim that Paris has been forced into that by the negative publicity that they received as a result of hosting the Paralympic Games. And therefore the Paralympic Games has had a transformative impact upon accessible transport in Paris.

[00:44:52] Dr Chris Brown: I suppose time is kind of the judge of things, isn't it? We're too early in terms of the cycle, for sure. And then, you know, we've got to kind of see those long-term implications. 

Ultimately, how consequential will the Paris Paralympics be for the development of the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic movement?

[00:45:09] Dr Ian Brittain: It's a tricky one to answer, like I said, because we're so close to them just having occurred. 

I mean, obviously as a sort of point in time, we can say yes, great media coverage. Most teams. Most athletes. So definitely part of an upward trend in the Games. In terms of a sporting context, nothing really negative. No massive scandals or anything. 

And so, you know, will hopefully give impetus to LA and to Brisbane and whoever comes after Brisbane, to try and build on. Or try and outdo Paris. Because that's the way it always works is, you know, Paris got 168 nations, we need to get 170 because you know, there are 205 National Olympic Committees. So there's still a few countries out there that aren't participating in the Paralympic Games. You know, those kind of impetuses can, can sort of lead to policies in future Games, organising committees as a way of saying, well, we've outdone the previous Games, you know, we've done better than Paris in this area, or we've done better than London in this area 

[00:46:28] Dr Laura Misener: In 10 years from now, I'd like us to be reflecting on and seeing how that helped change the culture and the perceptions in and around the city of Paris and maybe in France. 

You know, as I noted at the outset, one of the sort of surprise moments for me was my early visits to Paris and meeting with the organising committee and the very poor perception and understanding of disability, generally, in the country.

And I'm hoping that this plays a small part in changing attitudes and perceptions for persons with disability as well as for athletes with disability. 

[00:47:07] Dr Chris Brown: It is fair to say the Paris Paralympics were a fantastic sporting event that showcased a variety of talent that exists in parasport.

[00:47:15] Dr Laura Misener: I would say that Paris 2024 continued to advance the Paralympic movement and accessibility for athletes with disabilities, broadly, more globally, but also most importantly locally for them. 

[00:47:33] Dr Chris Brown: Questions surrounding legacy and social change are hard to answer at this stage, and ultimately time will tell on this. 

Thank you for listening to this episode. I hope you learned a lot from this episode about the Paris Paralympic Games, and I really appreciate my guests providing their expertise and their time to contribute to this episode. So thank you. 

Please feel free to get in touch to provide feedback on the episode and to continue the conversation. 

Stay tuned for another episode of the Disability Sport Info Show. Until then, goodbye.