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A positive year for ParalympicsGB, in which the team won 124 medals at Paris 2024, ended on a rather sour note.
Athletes have criticized luxury department store Fortnum & Mason for hosting a party for Olympic athletes, following a reception at Buckingham Palace for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, but without inviting any Paralympic athletes.
Paralympic sprinter Zac Shaw called it “hurtful” in a viral social media post, while paracyclist Archie Atkinson told BBC Sport it was “disrespectful”.
Fortnum & Mason apologized for the “error” and said a separate Paralympic event was being organised.
In his post, Shaw said it was a symptom of a “broader problem” regarding how disabled athletes are treated differently in sport.
“Why is it Team GB and ParalympicsGB? Why don’t we compete under the same name,” he asked.
This was a question asked by several other Paralympians. Gold medal sprinter Jonnie Peacock wrote on X: “Is it finally time for Team GB and ParalympicsGB to think about merging? I can only imagine it would be easier to improve equality?”
This might also be a common question for those unfamiliar with the nuances of sports governance. For example, the two teams wore very similar outfits at Paris 2024, except for the different Olympic and Paralympic logos.
They have a few connections – including a shared office space in Fitzrovia, central London – and they have also shared facilities at the Games before.
Most countries have separate organizations for their Olympic and Paralympic teams, although some, like Team USA, are combined. In Paris, the hosts competed as part of the French team at both Games.
So why are they separated and could they one day merge?
Why are they separated?
There are two main reasons for this separation: historical and financial.
The Paralympics are significantly younger than the Olympics. The first Paralympic Games took place in 1960, 66 years after the first modern Summer Olympics.
The British Paralympic Association was founded in 1989 and has overseen participation in the Games ever since.
The two associations have different financing structures. Team GB is run 100% through commercial funding and its function is to send major British teams to IOC competitions during an Olympic cycle, including events such as the Youth Olympic Games.
ParalympicsGB, on the other hand, is a charity: it receives part of the funding from British sport, while the rest is made up of partnerships with companies. He sends a team to fewer events than Team GB.
The budgets of the two organizations are significantly different. Team GB, in the most recent Olympic cycle until 2024, generated revenue of £70 million over a four-year period, used to take a team of 327 athletes to Paris.
During the same period, ParalympicsGB operated on £30 million and took a team of 215 athletes to France.
Since 2021, major sponsors of the Olympics automatically benefit from global Paralympic rights, but this has not been universally accepted.
Team GB has a total of 33 commercial partners listed on its website, while ParalympicsGB has 19. Nine companies sponsor both: Adidas, Aldi, Allianz, British Gas, Deloitte, Dreams, Ocean, TikTok and Eurostar.
Another obstacle to a merger is whether the brands want to finance both teams or provide enough money to do so effectively.
Nicky Kemp, editorial director at marketing consultancy Creativebrief, told BBC Sport: “Combining the organizations is an interesting debate, but it could dilute both.
“You have to give brands that flexibility to sponsor either the Olympics, Paralympics, or both.
“You want the best of both worlds and not lose that uniqueness. The sport is so diverse and complex that if you combine these organizations you could end up making it less inclusive.”
Will they one day merge?
The Fortnum & Mason episode is not the only incident that has raised questions about why Paralympic athletes were treated differently from their Olympic counterparts.
Having a smaller budget means ParalympicsGB has to make savings that wouldn’t be considered by Team GB – such as costumes for the athletes.
Team GB were issued costumes for the Olympic opening ceremony and at Buckingham Palace, while Paralympic athletes wore tracksuits at both events.
“Why were we at Buckingham Palace in tracksuits, while the Olympians were given suits?” Shaw asked on social media.
A ParalympicsGB spokesperson told BBC Sport that wetsuits had been provided to athletes for Tokyo 2020, but many were not wearing them and after conducting a survey of athletes it was decided not to produce them for Paris 2024 in the name of sustainability.
Negative PR could discourage brands, Kemp says, but she says those who fund parasport can be richly rewarded.
“One of the biggest problems in marketing right now is the fear of cancel culture, a universal fear of getting it wrong, which could stop investment,” she said.
Some brands, like British Gas, have been praised for featuring Paralympic athletes in their ads, while others have adapted after backlash.
Channel 4 was criticized for its portrayal of “superhumans” in its Paralympic coverage, with some feeling it created the impression that Paralympians were abnormal. The brand was dropped for Paris 2024, for which Channel 4 was the UK broadcaster and provided full television coverage of the Games.
“At the end of the day, if you don’t represent the company, you don’t reflect your customers,” Kemp said.
There have been some improvements in ParalympicsGB, building an image of its own. Adidas has sold derivative products dedicated to Paralympic teams for Paris 2024 for the first time.
For now, a merger of Team GB and ParalympicsGB seems highly unlikely.
David Clarke, chief executive of ParalympicsGB, told BBC Sport: “There is no doubt that globally the Olympic movement is still much better funded than the Paralympic movement and after an incredibly successful Paris Paralympic Games, we certainly hope to see this gap continue to narrow.
“Like the vast majority of nations, ParalympicsGB and Team GB are separate organisations. We are independent but work collaboratively with each other.
“Our performance speaks for itself: winning 124 medals, including 49 gold, in a record number of 18 different sports to finish second in the medal table at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, while campaigning for equality access to sporting opportunities for all disabled people in the UK.
