IPC President Andrew Parsons has promised that Paris 2024 will be the most spectacular Paralympics in history.

The combination of iconic venues, progressive values and world-class sport has ensured that the Olympic halo effect continues to provide marketing gold dust to sponsors.

These will be the first Paralympics in Europe since London 2012 and the first to be held with spectators since Rio 2016. With organisers committing to low-cost and accessible tickets the atmosphere promises to be electric.

While many cited the London 2012 games as a watershed moment for the Paralympics, Paris 2024 has the opportunity to raise the bar.

Research from Channel 4 shows there is still a way to go to smash stereotypes. More people watch the Paralympics to see people ‘overcome their disabilities’ than to see elite sport. The broadcaster, with its in-house creatives and disability-focused communications consultancy Purple Goat, successfully shifted the lens onto the viewer with an uncomfortable yet uncompromising campaign.

But will the games also raise the bar for marketing? When it comes to equitable investment the industry is not embracing the mantra ‘measure what you treasure’. The investment gap between the Olympics and Paralympics remains vast, brands have the opportunity to do things differently.

With this in mind, we asked industry leaders if 2024 will mark a watershed moment for equitable sponsorship investment in the Paralympic Games.

Absolutely. Over the last few years we’ve seen a notable shift with brands no longer viewing the Paralympics as an afterthought, but instead as an integral part of their sports marketing strategies. This progression reflects a broader cultural shift towards understanding the importance of broader inclusivity and recognition of the immense value of engaging the disabled community as consumers, and campaigns such as the ones headed up by Channel 4 have had a big role to play in shifting attitudes amongst audiences and advertisers. This is all against a backdrop of the increasing globalisation of sports and growing global fandoms, driving more interest and demand from audiences. In its most recent This Year Next Year forecast, GroupM estimates that sponsorship revenue will grow at roughly the same pace as advertising over the next five years, which goes to show that advertisers have plenty of opportunities to tap into this passion that audiences continue to sustain for sports, and engage and represent more diverse audiences and consumers in the process.

London 2012 was a turning point in the focus and recognition of the Paralympics and its athletes. Twelve years later, Paris 2024 could be another milestone for fairer sponsorship in the Paralympic Games. Paris has placed its values of inclusion and diversity front and center, even introducing the first mascot with a visible disability—the Phryges, which represents an ideal rather than an animal.

This creates a real opportunity for brands to demonstrate their commitment to equality. Supporting the Paralympics is increasingly becoming a no-brainer for brands. Paralympic athletes have seen their profiles grow significantly, gaining more attention than ever, thanks to social media and a broader push to celebrate all abilities. This year’s Paralympic events will also take place against famous cultural backdrops, including the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais. These venues symbolize Paris’s commitment to making the 2024 Paralympics one of the most memorable and inclusive Games ever by integrating the city's cultural heritage with the spirit of the Paralympic movement.

This increased prominence and importance means sponsors can view the Paralympics not just as a "nice-to-do" but as a smart move that connects with a more socially aware audience.

The Paris Games are vaunting an admirable selection of firsts – 2024 will be the first climate-positive, gender-balanced Games in history. Even the opening ceremony is breaking with tradition, as the first to be held outside an Olympic stadium, on the banks of River Seine. But expecting a sudden surge in individual athlete sponsorship for Olympians or Paralympians is unrealistic.

Sponsorship dollars for individual athletes, both Olympic and Paralympic, remain limited. Athletes still rely heavily on government funding and lottery systems, with sponsorship forming a minuscule part of their income.

What's more, the Paralympics, unlike many Olympic disciplines, lacks consistent high-profile events outside the Games. This limits opportunities for athletes to build personal brands and attract sponsors year-round.

Yes, brands are increasingly conscious of equitable representation. However, with growing pushback on DEI agendas (Bloomberg) and marketing budgets under pressure we don't envisage a breakthrough year in individual Paralympic athlete sponsorship.

Without addressing the underlying funding structures and creating more opportunities beyond the Games, this is one area where Paris 2024 might have to settle for not coming first – and being more of the same.

It’s very hard to make a judgement on this as there are no figures for sponsorship split by the Olympics and Paralympics. I would probably re-frame the question. It’s not a watershed moment from equitable investment – by most measures there remains a huge disparity between many athletes, not just to do with whether they are para-athletes or not, but depending on their sport. In Paris this summer there are some of the highest-paid people in the world competing at the same time as others who’ve had little financial support at all

What we can see in the sponsorship activity for Paris 2024 is that we have passed the tipping point where brands no longer think in different terms for the Olympics and Paralympics. Audiences connect with the achievements of athletes regardless. That’s what draws our attention to Paris 2024, the value of the Olympic movement “Striving for excellence and encouraging people to be the best they can be.” Often it’s the stories of overcoming adversity and challenge that show people at their best.

In the work Leith has done with Sanofi that’s what we have seen at first hand. Para-athletes Théo Curin, Davide Morana, and Ellie Challis whose commitment to their sport and to using the opportunity of Paris 2024 to drive visibility on the global stage for the Meningitis Flag is an inspiring example of people at their best.

2021 saw the big shift, with Olympic TOP sponsors receiving automatic global rights for the Paralympic Games. The distribution of that investment to the IPC is far from equitable, but it has given the Paralympic Games greater potential marketing muscle from a wider stable of global brands.

Will their leverage of Paralympics come close to Olympic levels? Not a chance. Spend will vary wildly between those who actively sought Paralympic rights (hat-tip the likes of Toyota), and those who pay lip-service to the Paralympic rights bundled within their TOP sponsorship. Plus, brand spend follows consumer interest and broadcast reach.

Even though the Channel 4 plus Youtube combo will be showing every minute of Paralympic action, they cannot compete with the BBC as a platform to capture national attention. And in that battle for share of attention (and marketing spend), the football season kick-off looms large. 2024 could, however, be another watershed in how the Paralympic Games influences the perception of disability in the UK.

Channel 4’s creative genius was clear in the Superhumans ‘triology’ and has come to the fore again with their ‘Considering What?’ campaign, challenging the trope of Paralympians ‘overcoming’ their disabilities. 4Creative ECD Lyndsey Atkins’ summary of the creative idea - ‘Excellence is excellent, no caveats’ – could equally be a judgement on Channel4’s Paralympic Games creative output, which has been transforming societal perceptions of disability and sport since 2012.