David Abraham, the chief executive of Channel 4, unveiled the station's plans at a special reception attended by London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton, ParalympicsGB chief executive Phil Lane and some of Britain's leading Paralympians.

They were joined by some of Channel 4's biggest stars, including celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey and newsreader Jon Snow.

Abraham said: "We are committed to providing much greater coverage in terms of hours than has ever previously been provided.

"We will broadcast over 150 hours of live coverage of the Games themsleves - an increase of 400 per cent compared to Beijing - and for the period of the Games Channel 4 will effectively be re-branded the Paralympic channel.

"Secondly, we are committed to innovate in the way we cover the Games.

"Both in terms of technology and production - which we will use to make the Games as visually arresting, interactive and engaging as possible - and in terms we are going to use on and off screen.

"There'll be disabled crew working on all our productions and we'are aiming for 50 per cent disabled presenting/reporting talent on screen.

"And, thirdly, we are committed to challenge the way people see disability sport; to raise awareness of the Games themselves but also of the phenomenal ability and excellence of the athletes taking part.

"The real legacy that we want to leave behind after 2012 is transformation in the way that viewers think about the Paralympics and about the concept of disability itself."

Ade Adepitan, a member of Britain's wheelchair basketball team that won the bronze medals at the Athens Paralympics in 2004, is set to be the face of Channel 4's coverage, which will be officially launched to coincide with the two years to go anniversary on August 29.

This includes a new weekly magazine programme - The Paralympic Show - presented by Adepitan and Rick Edwards and a high concept 90 minute feature documentary called "Inside Incredible Athletes".

Abraham said: "This opportunity [to broadcast the Paralympics] seems to me to be exactly the kind of thing Channel 4 was put on earth to grasp.

"Here we have a fantastic, high quality sporting event, featuring some of the UK's most talented and inspiring elite athletes but it does not - yet - have the kind of profile and awareness that it deserves."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
January 2010: Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson - BBC have been great but Channel 4 will take it to another level at London 2012
January 2010: BBC snubbed as Channel 4 awarded London 2012 Paralympic broadcast rights