From Sydney to Beijing: the evolution of the photographic coverage of Paralympic Games in five European countries

Abstract

The growth of the Paralympic Movement during the last few decades has been reinforced significantly by the Olympic reform process, particularly as the efforts of the IOC 2000 Commission fortified the relationship between Olympic and Paralympic Committees. However, this development is scarcely illustrated in the world media arena; several scholars draw attention to the dearth of coverage of elite athletes with disabilities in popular media. This article examines preliminary data regarding the evolution of the photographic coverage of five European countries over an eight-year period, from Sydney (2000) to Beijing (2008). The journalistic attention, as highlighted by the number of published images, has been raised during this period, and the coverage of female and male athletes matched the demographics of these five European countries. However, the data also reveals that the competitiveness and the abilities of Paralympic athletes are not highlighted, the majority of the images did not depict the athletes in action, but rather as motionless.