The Paralympics gets a gold medal for changing how we see disability, says the presenter

The Paralympic Games are due to start on Wednesday and, not for the first time, there’s been talk of imminent disasters, cuts and poor ticket sales. But each time, the host country proves everyone wrong and delivers an amazing event and I’m sure Brazil will do the same.

The 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney was the first time Paralympians were treated as equals in terms of the facilities laid on for them. And London 2012 was the first time they were treated as heroes. When Team GB came in the stadium with air cannons exploding and David Bowie’s Heroes reverberating I teared up (which was awkward, as I was commentating on TV at the time!).

I’d just never seen disabled people celebrated to that extent. A recent survey by the charity Scope shows the hugely positive impact the Paralympics have on the perception of people with a disability and I’ve come to realise that the Games change people’s attitudes in one country every four years – the country that hosts them. This year, I’m confident it will happen in Brazil.

Here in Britain, Channel 4 has had a huge part to play, not only with coverage of the Games – they’re showing 700 hours live this year on TV and online – but the marketing around it. Whoever thought of soundtracking their promotional trailer in 2012 with the US hip hop group Public Enemy’s song Harder Than You Think deserves their own medal. It was tough and uncompromising. This year the trail has the swing track Yes I Can and is hugely uplifting – six out of ten people say it has changed their views of those with a disability, before the Games have even begun!

Every time a country hosts a Paralympics they follow it up with more media coverage at the next Games, because there is a public appetite for it. The more people see of the Paralympics, the more they want to see. This year Australia is showing the Games on a commercial network for the first time. The US only screened three hours of live coverage from London, this time they’re showing 30-40 hours – a vast improvement.

I’m thrilled to be in Rio with comedian Josh Widdicombe and journalist Alex Brooker to present our show, The Last Leg, every night. We’ll provide updates on the action you might have missed, and a preview of the evening ahead.

Knowing just what a positive impact the Paralympics can have on the way those with disabilities are perceived by the public and portrayed by the media means I’m still keeping my fingers crossed about the success of Rio.