Pictured: Stinna Tange Kaastrup (DEN) and Horsebo Smarties, winners of individual Para Dressage Grade II Freestyle gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018.
Para Dressage is one of five sports that has been added to the live broadcast schedule for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, marking the first time that equestrian fans the world over will be able to watch daily live coverage of Para Dressage at the Paralympics.
The move comes thanks to increased support from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and the demands of broadcasters, with Para Dressage joining canoe, rowing, archery, and shooting to bring the total number of sports with live coverage to a record 21 disciplines from 19 sports.
“We are thrilled to be part of the live broadcast of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and our sport will benefit greatly from this worldwide exposure,” said FEI Secretary General and President of the Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) Sabrina Ibáñez.
“The development of Para Dressage is phenomenal, with the number of athletes growing year on year, and being included in the live coverage from Tokyo 2020 will give more parts of the world the chance to discover our amazingly talented Para athletes.”
Para Dressage features from Day 2 to Day 6 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, which run from 25 August to 6 September.
“Thanks to the growing interest and investment from broadcasters around the world to screen the Paralympic Games, we have been able to significantly increase the number of sports to be broadcast live for Tokyo 2020,” said IPC Commercial, Broadcasting, and Partnerships Director Alexis Schaefer.
“Our strategy throughout has been to invest all additional revenues generated from TV rights sales back into the broadcasting plan for Tokyo 2020. This is allowing us to broadcast live nine disciplines and seven sports more compared to Rio 2016, a huge leap forward which will benefit broadcasters and the whole Paralympic Movement.
“Without doubt Tokyo 2020 will have the best, most complete and in-depth TV coverage yet for a Paralympic Games. In addition to more live TV coverage, we are also investing into delivering far greater short form content for broadcasters to use in the form of highlights, athlete features, and profiles. With such comprehensive coverage in place we are very confident that viewing figures will exceed the record cumulative audience of 4.1 billion people that enjoyed the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”
“OBS is pleased to deliver extensive broadcast coverage of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and bring even more outstanding, inspirational performances and stories of the Paralympic athletes to millions of viewers around the world,” said OBS Chief Executive Officer Yiannis Exarchos.
FEI.tv will be offering live free-to-air coverage of the Para Dressage competitions at the Longines FEI European Championships in Rotterdam (NED), 19-25 August, one of multiple events where Para athletes can achieve their Minimum Eligibility Requirements for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Dedicated Para athlete profile videos will also be made available on FEI’s digital platforms.
The IPC press release can be viewed here.
Media Contact:
Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46