Popular social media network Facebook is paying tribute to Paralympians through a special hub, as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games kicked off on Tuesday.
The International Paralympic Committee said in a statement that Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter will showcase Paralympic content in engaging hubs.
“On the Facebook app, the hub includes highlights from official Paralympic broadcast partners, team and athlete overviews, a Paralympic Games quiz, posts from friends,” it said.
Those who want to keep track and keep up with the games can visit the hub by clicking on the #Paralympics hashtag, as well as the Facebook wordmark.
The IPC has also joined forces with Facebook to build ‘Paralympics Raw: Emotion Unites Us’, which is an immersive WebXR visual and spatial audio experience that recreates phenomenal moments by Para athletes.
The experience features the voices of athletes — including Birgit Skarstein, Katie Kelly, Chan Ho Yuen, Lex Gillette and Abbas Karimi — who share their stories of competing in Para Sport and at the Paralympic Games.
Using animated visuals and spatial sound, you can ’feel’ like you are sharing the moment with the athlete. Fans can access the experience by visiting the Raw Emotions page via their desktop, mobile or Oculus browsers from 24 August.
“Google Search and Google Assistant can help fans find the latest information on their favourite team and Paralympians. Fans can also see where to watch the Games live and catch up with daily recap videos and check out the top news related to the Paralympic Games. With Google Images, users are able to see photo galleries of some of the best photos of the day from Getty Images,’” the Committee said.