The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has confirmed that it will provide free-to-air coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to 49 Sub-Saharan African territories including Mauritius, as part of the AT2030 programme’s Para Sport Against Stigma project, which is funded by UK Aid. This is an effort to elevate Para sport and ensure human rights for people with disabilities around the world.
Daily 52-minute highlights packages of African centred content featuring the continent’s biggest Paralympic heroes and rising stars, will be provided in English, French and Portuguese. It is estimated that the broadcasts will reach over 250 million viewers in Africa.
Kindly note that the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation is the local broadcaster offering free-to-air coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
TV Media Sport (TVMS) will produce this content and has also worked on behalf of the IPC to secure the Sub-Saharan broadcasters. The free-to-air broadcasting will be available in the following 49 territories: Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Eswatini (Ex Swaziland); Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea Bissau; Ivory Coast; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Sao Tome; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Tanzania; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe.
Focussed research is taking place in Malawi on the Paralympic Games broadcasting coverage and local media practices and understandings of disability. This will inform future production and distribution decisions leading into the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Emmanuel Nii Tettey Oku is a Para powerlifter competing for Ghana at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He said: “During the Olympics I saw some of my least athletic friends post and share highlights and commentary about the Games. This was not only about the sport but also the different discussions surrounding the Games like trending topics on Simone Biles. I thought it was interesting how trending topics and visibility can cause people to talk about things that they would otherwise overlook.
“So, for me broadcasting the Games and its highlights is an opportunity to make Para sport trend enough for people to talk about it and this will help fight disability stigma here in Ghana and Africa. I think broadcasting the Games and coverage can help raise awareness of Para Sport and help Para athletes to tell our stories and showcase our achievements.”
VMS President Hédi Hamel, said: “We are delighted for the IPC to have chosen TVMS to secure the free-to-air broadcast all over the continent and to distribute valuable live and daily highlights with editorial relevance for Africa. All of our broadcast partners have responded more than positively to be associated with the Para Sport against Stigma project. The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will receive unprecedented free exposure in Africa.”
