2024-03-02 05:00:35
Lhe Paralympic Games begin in six months, on August 28. We had almost forgotten it, as these Games, organized for the first time in France, suffer from a chronic lack of recognition. Ticket sales, which are struggling to take off, have reminded us of this. Since the start of October 2023, just under 900,000 tickets (out of 2.8 million) have found takers. And even. Only a quarter of them were purchased by the general public, the rest is “subsidized” by the State and local authorities with the aim of solidarity ticketing.
Even though the organizers have been telling us for months, with supporting figures, that all this is normal, that 40% of sales will be made during the Olympic Games (OG), we sense a slight wave of concern at the top of the sports authorities. global. “We will do promotional campaigns for the Games, working with the organizing committee to ensure that we have full stadiums in Paris”admitted, Wednesday, in an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP), Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee.
Yet, and this is not the least of the paradoxes, we will never talk regarding Paralympic athletes as much as during the Paris Games. Media rights holders of more than 160 countries will cover the event. A record. Paris 2024 will be the first edition during which the 22 sports on the program will be broadcast live. France Télévisions will offer, as for the Olympic Games (from July 26 to August 11), full coverage of the Paralympic Games, i.e. three hundred hours of live. Again a first.
Come out of anonymity
And yet, who in France is capable of giving more than three names of athletes who will compete under the tricolor colors at the end of the summer? Apart from a few faces known to a restricted circle of experts – like the paratriathlete Alexis Hanquinquant or the paracyclist Alexandre Léauté – it is difficult for the general public to get enthusiastic regarding athletes they do not know. Not much is missing for something to click: according to a barometer from the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority published at the end of January, 60% of French people say they are ready to follow the Paralympic Games, only seven points less than for the Olympics.
The organizers know this well and have been striving for months to raise awareness,« acculturer », according to the term used, the media to the Paralympic disciplines. Channel 4 set an example in London in 2012 by presenting British para athletes in the guise of superhumans. Guaranteed success: the competition venues were packed.
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