The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is partnering with Worldwide Paralympic Partner Samsung, in the Wireless Communications Equipment category, to provide 30 leading Paralympians from countries including Brazil, USA, Korea, Great Britain, France, Spain and more the chance to record exclusive behind-the-scenes video blogs in the lead up to and during the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games from 1-19 September.

The project is part of Samsung’s Rio 2016 Paralympic Games campaign, ”Symbols of Ability,” which highlights athletes’ abilities over their disabilities.

The athletes involved in the Samsung Paralympic Bloggers project will be able to share their challenges and victories with the world through behind-the-scenes footage which viewers do not get to see on their television screens at home. All of the contents will be captured with Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung mobile accessories, and fans will be able to view the Samsung Paralympic Blogs in 360.

Using Samsung Galaxy smartphones paired with Samsung Gear VR headsets, athletes in the Paralympic Village will also be able to experience the Samsung Paralympic Blogs in 360 by visiting a special station. The stations will also contain other 360 content from key landmarks in Rio, allowing athletes to see the sites without leaving the Paralympic Village.

All of the athlete-generated content will be uploaded to the IPC’s YouTube Channel (YouTube.com/Paralympics) and the athletes’ social media accounts. In addition, rights-holding broadcasters will have access to the footage via a separate content management system and media outlets can sign up here [link] for notifications when athletes publish new blogs, allowing them to share this content with their readers and viewers.

IPC President Sir Philip Craven said: “The Samsung Paralympic Bloggers project will give fans a unique behind-the-scenes insight into the lives of athletes. We are excited to be partnering with broadcasters around the world to distribute this footage on social and digital media, as well as on TV”

The IPC and Samsung will challenge the world to focus on an athletes’ ability and engage with their personal stories, allowing fans to get closer to the lives of Paralympians than ever before.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with the International Paralympic Committee on the Samsung Paralympic Bloggers programme for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games,” said Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. “This programme reinforces Samsung’s goal of breaking down barriers through technology, and we think that this will be a unique way for fans to connect with the Paralympic Games both in Rio and around the world.”

The Samsung Paralympic Bloggers programme is a component of the brand’s holistic Rio 2016 Paralympic Games campaign, which also includes a marquee advertisement featuring U.S. Paralympian Tatyana McFadden. The brand will also revamp its Samsung Galaxy Studios, including the flagship Samsung Galaxy Studio in Olympic Park, to include several accessibility features to ensure all consumers, athletes and fans are able to take part in a variety of interactive experiences.

This Samsung Paralympic Bloggers is an extension of the project which began during the London 2012 Paralympic Games and continued through the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

The Paralympians who took part in the Samsung Paralympic Bloggers programme in London were also successful off camera, picking up 39 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze medals at the Paralympic Games.

The list of athletes taking part in the Samsung Paralympic Bloggers project includes:

Abdi Jama (wheelchair basketball, Great Britain)

Alvaro Valera (table tennis, Spain)

Amalia Perez (powerlifting, Mexico)

Andre Brasil (swimming, Brazil)

Arnaud Assoumani (Athletics, France)

Carlos Serrano (swimming, Colombia)

Chuck Aoki (wheelchair rugby, USA)

Cuiping Zhang (shooting, China)

Darwin Castro (athletics, Ecuador)

David Smith (boccia, Great Britain)

Fabien Lamirault (Table tennis, France)

Gustavo Fernandez (wheelchair tennis, Argentina)

Gustavo Sanchez (swimming, Mexico)

Hannah McFadden (athletics, USA)

Hwa Sook Lee (Archery, South Korea)

Ibrahim Al-Hussein (Swimming, Independent Paralympic Athletes)

Janet McLachlan (Wheelchair basketball, Canada)

Jinho Park (shooting, South Korea)

Katie Holloway (sitting volleyball, USA)

Leinier Savon Pineda (athletics, Cuba)

Liu Jing (table tennis, China)

Marie-Amelie Le Fur (athletics, France)

Michael Jeremiasz (wheelchair tennis, France)

Natalia Mayara (wheelchair tennis, Brazil)

Petrucio Ferreira (athletics, Brazil)

Tatyana McFadden (athletics, USA)

Teresa Perales (swimming, Spain)

Terezinha Guilhermina (athletics, Brazil)

Ye Ruyi (Wheelchair Fencing, China)

Yohansson Nascimento (athletics, Brazil)

For more information on acquiring footage as a rightsholding broadcaster or signing up for notifications when a blog is published, please contact Paige Ribchester (Paige.Ribchester@Paralympic.org).

About the International Paralympic Committee

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. It co-ordinates the organisation of the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for 10 sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC’s vision is to enable Para athletes to achieve sporting excellence and inspire and excite the world.

To watch videos and subscribe to ParalympicSport.TV, please go to www.youtube.com/Paralympics.

Also, you may follow the Paralympic Movement on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Paralympics or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/paralympics.

To unsubscribe, please e-mail: laura.schreder@paralympic.org

About Samsung’s Involvement in the Paralympic Games

Samsung is a Worldwide Partner of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in the Wireless Communications Equipment category. Starting with the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games, Samsung has supported the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games and is proud to be an official partner of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Samsung hosts various Paralympic Games campaigns that aim to enable everyone around the world to participate in the Paralympic movement and to spread the excitement and inspiration of the Games through its wireless communication technologies. Samsung’s commitment as a Worldwide Partner continues through Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, and Tokyo 2020, and after 2016, will expand its category of sponsorship “Wireless Communications Equipment and Computing Equipment,” including smartphones, tablets, laptops, personal computers and other computing equipment, and desktop printers.