Disability Narratives in Sports Communication: Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games’ Best Practices and Implications

Olga Kolotouchkina,Carmen Llorente-Barroso,Juan Pavón,María Luisa García-Guardia

doi:10.17645/mac.v9i3.4043

Olga Kolotouchkina, Carmen Llorente-Barroso + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v9i3.4043

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Abstract

The Paralympic Games have become a relevant social and communication tool for the enhancement of global awareness and understanding of disability. The increasing visibility of this kind of global sports event, as well as the efforts of public authorities to make their host cities more accessible, evidence a relevant shift to new urban barrier-free experiences and discourses concerning disability. This research is guided by an exploratory case study approach to assess the disability representation and narratives within the context of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games. The examination of some innovative communication strategies fostering the visibility of disability reveals a series of effective practices implemented in Japan. The focus on the personification of para-athletes, the celebration of public events to experience first-hand para-sports disciplines, as well as the engagement of school-children and young people in para-sports initiatives are predominant in the communication efforts of Tokyo 2020 in the pre-games period.

Highlights

Fair representation of disability, avoiding the temptation of generalizing health conditions, simplistic discourses and stereotyped iconography is far from common in media (Bruce, 2014; Silva & Howe, 2012; Vázquez‐Barrio et al, 2021)
Even though the understanding of disability and the social per‐ ception of people with disability cannot be dramatically improved by the impact of a single global event, the con‐ tribution of the Paralympic movement to the change in attitudes towards disability is noteworthy (Beckett, 2014; Ribeiro et al, 2020)
Personal meetings and online interviews were held by the authors with: Tristan Lavier, Manager of International Communications Section, Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games; Masashi Nonaka, Vice President, Weber Shandwick Japan; Kazutake Hiramatsu, Managing Director of Corporate Communications Division, Dentsu; and Yolanda García, Sports Editor‐in‐Chief of the Spanish National Broadcasting Services, RTVE

Summary

Introduction

Fair representation of disability, avoiding the temptation of generalizing health conditions, simplistic discourses and stereotyped iconography is far from common in media (Bruce, 2014; Silva & Howe, 2012; Vázquez‐Barrio et al, 2021). The Paralympic Games are a relevant social and com‐ munication tool for drawing global attention toward the need for greater awareness and understanding of dis‐ ability (Bush et al, 2013; Pullen & Silk, 2020; Purdue & Howe, 2012). Even though the understanding of disability and the social per‐ ception of people with disability cannot be dramatically improved by the impact of a single global event, the con‐ tribution of the Paralympic movement to the change in attitudes towards disability is noteworthy (Beckett, 2014; Ribeiro et al, 2020). A sig‐ nificant impact on the visibility of achievements and chal‐ lenges faced by people with disabilities in the media and on digital platforms is acknowledged (McGillivray et al, 2021)

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