
Image caption: Kiribati’s first Paralympian Ongiou Timeon is a vision impaired shot putter and will compete at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Photo credit: Oceania Paralympic Committee.
Pasifika TV Media Release
August 30, 2024
Pasifika TV showcases Paris 2024 Paralympics and record number of athletes from Pacific Islands
It is not only Pacific Para athletes hitting their mark at this year’s Paralympics Games in Paris, France, but also Pasifika TV, which will boost spectator access to the event by screening Games’ action to the Pacific region.
Pasifika TV Head of Programming and Content Tui McKendrick says the agreement between Pacific Cooperation Broadcasting Limited (PBCL) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to distribute Paris 2024 Paralympic Games programming into the Pacific was a wonderful opportunity for the region’s viewers and for Pasifika TV alike.
“It will allow Pacific viewers to join in the excitement and challenges that our Paralympic athletes face as they compete against some of the world’s best,” Tui says.
Managing Director of IPC Global Rights John Lisko says the organisation’s goal for Paris 2024 was for everybody on the planet – all eight billion people – to have the ability to watch the Games.
“That’s why we are so excited to see Pasifika TV offering coverage of the Games and the exciting action from Paris to people throughout the Pacific Islands.”
An impressive 13 Para athletes representing six Pacific nations (Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati) are competing across two sports (Para athletics and Para taekwondo), in 13 events over 11 days of competition, getting underway today (August 29) in Paris following a vibrant Opening Ceremony.
It is the largest team yet of Pacific athletes to qualify for a Paralympic Games, signalling the continued rise of Pacific sport on the global stage.
Competitors such as Para discus athlete Meleane Vasitai Leaaepeni Falemaka, will be on display, along with Fiji Para taekwondo athlete Irene Mar and javelin thrower from Vanuatu, Ken Kahu, who is ranked among the world’s best.
Kiribati will be represented for the first time at a Paralympic Games, by vision impaired shot putter Ongiou Timeon.
All eyes were on the 4400 competitors at the Opening Ceremony at Paris’ iconic Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysées, but when it comes to contesting their sporting events, the 13 brave Pacific Para athletes will have support from all corners of the Pacific region spurring them on.
Meanwhile, a 25-strong team from New Zealand, including Tongan swimmer Tupou Neiufi, Neelam O’Neill (of Fiji-Indian parents) and Peter Cowan (Ngāti Kahungunu/Samoan), is competing in Paris, along with 160 competitors from Australia.
Pasifika TV has daily coverage of the Games – please check with your local Pacific broadcasters for more details about how and when to watch.
**Note – Coverage excludes New Caledonia and American Samoa as broadcast rights for those territories are covered by France and the United States, respectively.
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