As the Paris 2024 Olympic Games approach, the media landscape is filled with various scandals, such as concerns over the cleanliness of the Seine for swimming events, and predominantly focuses on able-bodied athletes. However, the largest international sports competition also includes athletes with disabilities. The first Paralympic Games were held in 1960, 64 years after the Olympic Games, highlighting the challenging integration of disabled individuals into a society not designed for them.
Nevertheless, sports foster representation and inclusion: by educating the public and raising awareness about societal issues, the Paralympic Games contribute to the integration of disabled individuals into the Olympic sports arena, as well as the media and public spheres. Following the London 2012 Games, 81% of Britons believed that hosting the Paralympic Games had improved the perception of citizens with disabilities, according to handicap.gouv.fr.
For Paris 2024, the goal is to democratise sports for people with disabilities. Specifically, the “Club inclusif” (Inclusive Club) programme, supported by the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, aimed to train 3,000 clubs to welcome disabled participants. Inclusion, however, can extend beyond this.
The Paralympic Games significantly impact the host country’s accessibility. For the 2024 Olympics, France will welcome 350,000 visitors with disabilities and 4,400 para-sport athletes. To prepare, the Île-de-France region has undergone extensive work to make streets and public transportation accessible for wheelchair users and those with sensory impairments. Public establishments have also had to adapt to better accommodate diverse audiences.
The Games also promote the practice of para-sports. According to an IFOP survey conducted with the association APF France Handicap, 92% of respondents believe the Games will encourage people with disabilities to engage in sports. This promotion, coupled with the “Inclusive Club” program, aims to enhance the relationship with sports for the 12 million French people with disabilities, of whom only 47% regularly engage in sports activities.
In addition, media representation helps to educate the public, as shown by the same survey, which found that 96% of respondents felt that the Paralympic Games helped to provide a more positive image of people with disabilities, and 82% believe it helped to deconstruct associated stereotypes. By witnessing disabled individuals taking part in high-level competition, in this case, sports, the way in which they are viewed changes. These challenges foster a paradigm shift: society and language will no longer focus on difficulties and disabilities but on opportunities and victories. Disabled individuals will be recognised not for their disabilities, but for their athletic and sports achievements. But disabled sport does not limit its positive influence to the sporting sphere: it is also a facilitator of social life and has a strong impact on the health, both moral and physical, of people with disabilities, particularly by developing their self-esteem.
Overall, handisports and the Paralympic Games are true vectors of inclusion and integration for disabled individuals in society. They educate the public, positively change perceptions of disabled people, and contribute to making cities more physically accessible.
Translated by Greta A. Zottoli.
