All are MP3.
Simon Mayo Show, Radio 5 Live, 23rd Sept (1.39Mb)
Marlon Shirley Profile, PM Programme, Radio 4, 24th Sept (511Kb)
Paralympics Closing Ceremony Report, BBC World Service, 28th Sept (283Kb)
"The Paralympic Volunteers – I have never come across a more unhelpful group of Athenians - sigh, yawn, amble off to take photographs of one another in their ritzy uniforms and gaze on the assembled hacks as though they have stood on something unpleasant."
"The official transport guide suggests the trip from Olympic Stadium to the Village should take 18 minutes. Yesterday morning, the return journey took over four hours."
IPC disappointed over no U.S. TV coverage
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The International Paralympic Committee on Friday expressed disappointment that there was no television coverage of the Athens Games in the United States.
«It's a disappointment for the U.S. athletes and the people of the U.S.A.,» IPC president Phil Craven said.
About 50 nations have bought broadcasting rights to the 11-day Paralympics, but none are from the U.S. Any American network could buy rights if they wanted to, said IPC spokeswoman Miriam Wilkens.
The United States Olympic Committee has bought non-exclusive rights to be aired in November.
«The bottom line is it is a pity ... since the U.S.A. has quite a large delegation,» Wilkens said.
Paralympics a TV success story in Europe and Asia, but not in US
by Harry Papachristou
ATHENS, Sept 21 (AFP) - More and more broadcasters across the world, especially in Europe and Asia, are putting the Paralympics into the spotlight, but the major sporting tournament for people with disabilities remains off screen in the world's biggest television market -- the United States.
The BBC "made history" on Sunday when broadcasting for the first time ever live coverage of the Paralympics, Dave Gordon, director for major events at Britain's public broadcaster said.
"There is a clear audience appetite for world class disability sport," he said. Audiences exceed two million viewers, "a perfectly respectable figure," Gordon said.
The BBC has sent a 100-strong crew to Athens to provide Paralympic coverage on its nationwide BBC2 channel for around 90 minutes a day.
"People are coming to grips with and love Paralympic sports," said International Paralymic Committee (IPC) President Phil Craven.
In 1996 the Atlanta Paralympics Games broadcast rights were sold for the first time. This year, the Athens Paralympics broadcast package is valued at 1.5 million dollars (1.2 million euros), according to IPC figures. The IPC spends all of that to cover a
large part of the Games' transmission costs, which total 3.5 million dollars.
"We are very disappointed about the fact that US networks decided not to buy the rights," Miriam Wilkens, media director of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), told AFP.
According to Wilkens, the US networks turned down the rights, citing a combination of cost and supposed lack of viewers' interest.
"We believe there is a broad public that would like coverage. We have e-mails coming to us from both athletes and viewers in the United States, asking us where they could see the Games," the IPC official said.
Negotiations are currently under way with the US Outdoor Live cable network to air a summary of the Paralympics in November.
"We hope that the US networks will be more proactive in the next Games," Wilkens said.
"I think that if the BBC is successful, then a US commercial entity will enter," said Steve Goldberg, a US journalist covering the Paralympics. "Interest in the States is building," he said.
"It's so embarrassing when you see there are no Americans at all," said Gordon.
Other broadcasters across the world, mainly on public television in China, Germany, Spain, and Greece, also attach greater importance to the Paralympics. "There is live coverage every day. Athletes winning medals make headlines in news bulletins back home," a Chinese journalist said.
Television viewers are not just people with disabilities. "We know from audience research for the Sydney (2000 Paralympics) that the able-bodied enjoy watching the Paralympics as they enjoy watching other sports," said Gordon.
Paralympics' television ratings even beat similar high-profile athletics events where able-bodied stars competed."During the weekend, the Paralympics even scored higher ratings than the Monaco Athletics Grand Prix," said Gordon. "You can't fool
the audiences. The viewer knows the Paralympics matter because that's when athletes win medals. In other competitions it's just athletes earning money".
"My nerves seem to be concentrated in the outer layers of my arm, then.
"I confirm this by drawing the knife out, slicing up at my skin from underneath. Oh, yeah, there they are. The flesh stretches with the blade, broadcasting signals through my arm as I open an inch-wide hole.
"Letting the pain dissipate, I note that there is remarkably little blood; the capillaries must have closed down for the time being. Fascinated, I poke at the gash with the tool.
"Ouch."