Channel 4 coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

16 August 2021

OVERVIEW OF COVERAGE PLANS

• Channel 4 has announced its most ambitious ever Paralympics coverage plans
• There will be more coverage than ever before 1,300 hours
• Over 300 hours around the clock coverage on linear TV on Channel 4 and More 4
• Over 1,000 hours of coverage on 16 live streams on https://paralympics.channel4.com/ – we will bring every sport shown live to audiences
• More 4 will be a dedicated team sports channel for the first time, showing Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby matches  
• All 4 will carry the best TV coverage from C4/M4 plus entertainment and opinion from our experts
• The Last Leg returns to screens every night of the Paralympics

The award-winning series began as part of Channel 4’s London 2012 Paralympic programming to highlight the Games and tackle the tricky questions viewers wanted to ask using the hashtag #isitok. Since then, The Last Leg has gone on to examine and dissect the week’s biggest news via big-name guests, acerbic wit, enlightening discussion and unique sketches.

• Most diverse ever on-screen talent line-up – over 70% disabled
• More disabled senior production roles than ever before
• Multi-location studios – including at the heart of the Games in Tokyo and at Channel 4’s National Headquarters in Leeds
• In Tokyo we will have presentation live from the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremony and Athletics competition plus poolside presentation at Swimming
• Ade Adepitan will present the daily highlights show from a specially rigged ‘Tokyo Taxi’ which will enable us to showcase the city as he travels at ground level to experience a Paralympics as never before
• Our studio audience in Leeds will create the atmosphere that is missing from the venues
• More accessible content than ever before – 100% of C4 and M4 coverage will have subtitles plus over 500 hours of streamed content
• Toyota are Channel 4’s broadcast partner

 

SCHEDULE

Channel 4’s Schedule: 24 August – 05 September (all UK time. Tokyo is +8 hours)

• 1100-1510 (24 August) Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Opening ceremony – live from Tokyo, presented by Ade Adepitan, Baroness Grey-Thompson
• 0730-0900 Paralympics Breakfast – live from Leeds, hosted by Arthur Williams and Steph McGovern
• 0900-1410 Live sport – presented from Leeds with Clare Balding and from Tokyo with Vick Hope (cycling), Sophie Morgan (swimming) and Lee Mackenzie (athletics)
• 0700-1400 Team sports – live on More 4, hosted by JJ Chalmers and Ed Jackson in Tokyo
• 1700-1800 Tokyo Today – highlights show presented from Tokyo, hosted by Ade Adepitan
• 1930-2000 Gold Rush – presented from Leeds, hosted by Clare Balding
• 2200-2300 The Last Leg – live from London, hosted by Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe, with Rosie Jones in Tokyo
• 0000-0700 Overnight live sport – presented from Tokyo
• https://paralympics.channel4.com/ – Paralympics Microsite will feature 16 live streams and over 1,000 hours of coverage
• 1100-1500 (05 September) Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony - live from Tokyo, presented by Ade Adepitan, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

 

	Paralympics Breakfast	Paralympics Live	More 4	Tokyo Today	Gold Rush	The Last Leg	Ceremonies
24/08				2300-2400		2200-2300	1100-1510
25/08	0730-0900	0900-1410 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
26/08	0730-0900	0900-1410 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
27/08	0730-0900	0900-1400 2300-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400 (M4)	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
28/08	0730-0900	2300-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400 (M4)	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
29/08	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 (M4) 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
30/08	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
31/08	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
01/09	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
02/09	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
03/09	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
04/09	0730-0900	0900-1400 0100-0700	0700-1400	1700-1800 2300-2400	1930-2000	2200-2300 0300-0400 (M4)
05/09	0800-0900	0100-0800					1100-1500

 

Social Media

5 daily social shows across Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok:

• While You Were Sleeping: A pre-breakfast show of all the best moments from overnight
• Today In Tokyo: The biggest stories, emotional, and newsworthy moments from Tokyo
• Mini Gold Rush: Fast-paced montage of the best medal winning moments
• Paralympics Rewind: A longer edit looking back at the best sporting moments from the day.
• Daily Top 5/10’s: Daily top 5/10 moments from the Games

 

PRESENTATION
Channel 4’s presenting team:

• Ade Adepitan: Ade competed as a professional Wheelchair Basketball player before pursuing a well-respected career in television. He has fronted documentaries tackling global issues such as climate change, presented the Paralympic Games for Channel 4 and co-hosted Children in Need.
• Clare Balding: Clare is an award-winning broadcaster and author who has worked on every Olympics since 1996 and every Paralympics since 2000. Clare won BAFTA’s Special Award for her work on London 2012 and continues to present major events in sport, factual documentaries and Royal events. A passionate campaigner for equality and women’s sport, Clare is also a best-selling author of two memoirs and three novels for children.
• Arthur Williams: originally identified by Channel 4, Arthur received rave reviews for his presentation of Channel 4‘s London 2012 Paralympic Games as well as being named by Bafta as a ‘Break Through Brit’ and nominated for a Grierson award for ‘best documentary presenter’ for Channel 4’s The Plane That Saved Britain. Arthur has also presented and authored a number of leading documentaries on his expertise of military history, travel and aviation.
• Sophie Morgan: Sophie is a TV broadcaster and disability advocate. In addition to presenting the Paralympics for Tokyo and in Rio 2016, she has made award-winning current affairs documentaries, travel programmes and consumer affairs shows including Dispatches and Unreported World. She’s also a patron of Scope & Back Up, a Global Ambassador for Women’s Rights and a board member of Ofcom.
• Steph McGovern: Steph is the presenter of Steph's Packed Lunch on Channel 4. Prior to this, Steph worked in financial journalism for over 15 years and spent eight years on BBC Breakfast. Steph started out as an engineer at Black & Decker and is a mentor for young people in Teesside and a patron of the charity Rubies.
• JJ Chalmers: The career of the former Royal Marine Commando was cut short following an IED explosion in Afghanistan. As a competitor and spokesperson for the inaugural Invictus Games JJ got an insight into TV. First as a Studio Presenter for the Rio Paralympics and since 2017 he has anchored The Invictus Games for the BBC. JJ has become a key part of the BBC's sport team with highlights including The Commonwealth Games and The London Marathon. Last year saw JJ join the cast of Strictly Come Dancing. JJ is the first disabled Studio Presenter to work across both Olympic and Paralympic Games.
• Ed Jackson: Former professional rugby player Ed Jackson is an adventurer, charity founder, broadcaster, speaker, author, brand ambassador and mentor, driven by a desire to encourage others to never let adversity stop them from achieving their goals. 2021 has seen Ed launch his debut podcast, It’s Good to Walk. His broadcasting talents were demonstrated when presenting Channel 4’s European Champions Cup rugby highlights and recent commentary for the Six Nations.
• Vick Hope: Award winning Television and Radio presenter Vick is live on BBC Radio 1 every Sunday currently hosting two shows (Life Hacks and The Official Chart: First Look). She has recently been announced as the new host of BBC R1 DriveTime. Vick has written two children's books and is an active human rights campaigner and ambassador for Amnesty International UK and her local refugee charity Akwaaba. Vick is currently on the Women's Prize for Fiction judging panel and in 2018 appeared on BAFTA winning series, Strictly Come Dancing.
• Adam Hills: As host of 22 series of Broadcast and RTS award-winning The Last Leg, BAFTA nominated Adam is one of the most popular comedians in the UK. With 16 solo stand-up shows that have toured internationally, his combination of positive and uplifting comedy has seen him receive a swag of awards, glowing reviews and legions of fans around the world. An avid rugby league player, Adam can also be seen in the award-winning feature length documentary Take His Legs, which followed the remarkable story of the Warrington Wolves Physical Disability Rugby League team.
• Alex Brooker: Alex began his career as a sports journalist before successfully auditioning for Channel 4 after seeing an advert to find new disabled talent for the 2012 Paralympics. He joined Channel 4 in March 2012 and has been a co-presenter on the multi award-winning The Last Leg ever since. Alex has also fronted two very personal and critically acclaimed documentaries; BBC Two’s Disability and Me and Channel 4’s Alex Brooker: My Perfect Body. In 2019, Alex took part in Channel 4’s Sink or Swim for Stand Up To Cancer which followed his gruelling training regime and impressive swim across the English Channel.
• Josh Widdicombe: Josh is a stand-up comedian and television and radio presenter, best known for his appearances on The Last Leg, Hypothetical, Insert Name Here, A League Of Their Own, Mock The Week and his BBC Three sitcom Josh, among numerous other TV comedy shows. One of the most popular live stand-ups in the UK, Josh also hosts popular podcasts - Lockdown Parenting Hell - with fellow comedian Rob Beckett and Quickly Kevin Will He Score, a podcast about football in the 90s.
• Rosie Jones: Rosie is a British stand-up comedian, actor and script writer who has written for multiple TV panel shows and sitcoms. She recently presented her first travel series for Channel 4, Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure, and her first children’s book, The Amazing Edie Eckhart, is published this August.
• Lee McKenzie: Lee is a journalist and presenter who presents Channel 4's F1 coverage as well as the W Series and Channel 4 Rugby. Lee also works on a variety of sports on the BBC including tennis, rugby and equestrian.
• Jordan Jarret-Bryan: Jordan is a Channel 4 News sports reporter, DJ, and journalist. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, he was one of the sports commentators on Channel 4. He can also be heard on talkSPORT and is an occasional guest on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast. Jordan is an amputee who played Wheelchair Basketball at club and national level for 15 years, including becoming a two-time European champion with the GB Junior Wheelchair Basketball team which he captained in 2004.
• Jeanette Kwakye: Jeanette is a former elite athlete who is now a broadcaster for Channel 4, the BBC, Sky Sports and Channel 5. A five-time British Champion, her biggest achievement was competing in the 2008 100m Olympic final in Beijing - the first British woman to do so in 24 years.   
• Liz Johnson: Liz has enjoyed a professional Swimming career spanning 20 years. She competed in three Paralympic Games, taking home medals in all of them – including gold at Beijing 2008. At the London 2012 Paralympics she was selected to take the Paralympic Oath. Liz has been World and European champion on multiple occasions. Liz has co-founded The Ability People, the UK’s first disability-led employment consultancy.
• Giles Long MBE: Giles is one of the most successful Paralympic swimmers Great Britain has ever produced, winning multiple gold, silver and bronze medals across three Paralympic Games. Outside swimming, Giles Long has become a popular sports commentator and presenter on TV.

 

Commentators:

• Steve Brown (wheelchair rugby): Steve is an award-winning TV presenter, public speaker and mentor. He is a Wheelchair Rugby player and coach who captained Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympics and was a European Championship gold-medal winner. In 2015 he was recognised in the Shaw Trust Power 100.
• Simon Brotherton: Simon is a sports commentator for the BBC, appearing on Match of the Day and BBC Radio Five Live, as well as BT Sport television. He has also reported from the Tour de France races, Formula One coverage, World Championship Boxing, Athletics and Major League Baseball's World Series.
• Jo Rowsell (cycling): Jo is a retired British cyclist who competed on track and road. She won Olympic gold medals at London 2012 London and Rio 2016 as well as five World Championship titles.
• Ronald McIntosh: Ronald is an award-winning sports broadcaster with vast experience in live network television and radio. He serves as a freelance commentator, reporter and presenter for a range of broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BT Sport and many others domestically and internationally.
• Rob Walker (athletics): Rob is a sports commentator, television presenter and freelance reporter, who has covered sports including tennis, snooker, darts, boxing, football, sailing and athletics for the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Setanta Sports.
• Katharine Merry (athletics): Katharine is a former sprinter who won the bronze medal in the 400m at Sydney 2000. She also represented Great Britain at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Katharine has worked for the BBC at the Olympics in Beijing and London and was the sole field event commentator for the Channel 4 coverage of the Paralympic Games in 2012.
• Dan Strange (wheelchair basketball): Dan is a Wheelchair basketball commentator who has commentated at a number of international events.
• Clare Griffiths (wheelchair basketball): Wheelchair basketball commentator and former GB women’s player
• John Rawling: John is a British boxing, track and field, darts and yachting commentator, currently working for BT Sport, ITV and talkSPORT. He also commentates on Paralympic sports for Channel 4, including for the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. 
• Gigi Salmon (tennis): Gigi Salmon is a TV and radio broadcaster that has been working in the world of sport for more than 20 years.
• Louise Hunt (tennis): Louise is a British wheelchair tennis player who competes in international level events. She competed in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
• Peter Norfolk (tennis): Peter is a British Wheelchair Tennis player. He has multiple Grand Slam and Super Series titles and competed for GB at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, where he won gold medals. He also competed at London 2012, where he was the flagbearer for ParalympicsGB at the opening ceremony.
• Marc Woods (swimming): Marc is a former British swimmer, who competed at five Paralympic Games, winning 12 medals, including gold in Sydney in 2000.

 

Pundits:

• Baroness  Grey-Thompson: Tanni has competed in five Paralympic Games, winning 11 gold Medals and is acknowledged as one of the most gifted and trail-blazing sportswomen for her dedication to bringing disability sport to a wider audience.
• Danny Crates Danny Crates is a Paralympic icon, winning gold at Athens Paralympics in 2004, and setting the word record in the same year. He was also a gold medal winner at both the European and World Championships.
• Alice Tai: Alice is a British Paralympic swimmer. She has represented Great Britain at European and World Championships and at the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games, winning gold medals at all levels. In 2019 Alice won seven World titles.
• Stef Reid (post-competition): Stef is a track and field Paralympian, competing mainly in category T44 long jump and sprint events. A multiple medal winner at European and world level, her most notable success are during the Paralympic Games at Beijing and London where she won a bronze in the sprint (2008) and silver in the long jump (2012). She is Vice-President of UK Athletics.
• Lauren Steadman (post- competition): Lauren is a Paralympic athlete who has competed in three Games, in both swimming and Para Triathlon. Lauren competed at both the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London as a swimmer, before switching to the paratriathlon for the 2016 Games in Rio where she won a silver medal.
• Hannah Dines: Hannah is a British T2 trike rider who competed at Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

 

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games facts

• Tokyo 2020 is the 16th Summer Paralympic Games
• It is the 2nd time Tokyo has hosted the Summer Games – the first in 1964 had 378 athletes from 21 countries competing in 9 sports
• 22 sports
• 539 events
• 2 new sports – Para Badminton & Para Taekwondo
• 4,350 athletes
• 9 days of competition
• 2 ceremonies
• Paralympic mascot is called SOMEITY
•  2 main zones – ‘Tokyo Bay’ and ‘Heritage’. Para cycling and shooting held outside Tokyo city centre
• 44 hectares of land for Paralympic village
• Paralympic medals are made out of old cell phones

 

 ParalympicsGB key statistics

• ParalympicsGB will have 228 athletes competing in 19 of the 22 sports
• 100 athletes are female, 128 are male (a breakdown of 44% / 56% respectively)
• There are 84 athletes making their debut at a Paralympic Games, with 144 returning athletes
• Youngest competitor is 17 years old (Ellie Challis, Para Swimming). The oldest is 57 years old (John Stubbs, Para Archery)
• 45 athletes are Paralympic Games medallists from previous Games – including gold medallists from Rio 2016 or London 2012, as well as gold medallists who are competing in a different sport in Tokyo, and guides and pilots who have won gold
• ParalympicsGB will field mixed teams in 8 sports: Boccia, Para-Archery, Para-Athletics, Para-Cycling, Para-Equestrian, Para-Rowing, Para-Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby

 

Channel 4 and the Paralympic Games

• Channel 4 has exclusive rights to broadcast the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in the UK on television and digital platforms, including every sport covered live in full on our digital offering
• Over 1,300 hours will be broadcast – 300 on linear TV and 1,000 on our digital platform
• Channel 4 has been proud to be the Paralympics broadcast since London 2012
• Channel 4 saw the Paralympics as an opportunity to
  • challenge and change public attitudes
  • attract a significant audience at a home Paralympics
  • appeal to advertisers as well as audiences
  • Reflect our remit: innovation, young people, diversity
• Channel 4 vision was to
  • Make the London 2012 Paralympic Games the biggest event in Channel 4’s history
  • Bring about a fundamental and permanent shift in the UK of perceptions of disability and disability sport
• In 2012, Channel 4 helped change the way disability sport was perceived in the UK and has been instrumental in changing public attitudes and perceptions of disability in the UK
• Channel 4’s promotion and coverage of the Paralympics has elevated the public’s view of the Paralympic Games

 

Channel 4 Games-time Press Contacts:

• Kate Clayton, Paralympics Executive kclayton@channel4.co.uk / 07789 544048 (based in UK)
• Louisa Compton, Head of News, Current Affairs and Sport lcompton@channel4.co.uk (based in Tokyo, always contact Kate Clayton in first instance please)