British Paralympians, many of whom became household-name stars during the London 2012 Paralympic Games, are breaking into the corporate speaking market for the first time, according to public speaker agency, Perming Artistes.
Perming Artistes, which next year marks its 21st anniversary in the celebrity speaker business, supplies hosts, speakers and celebrities to companies staging corporate functions and says one legacy of the Paralympics has been to generate a new earning power for disabled athletes on the ’celebrity’ speaker circuit.
The company reports that, since the London Paralympic Games, disabled British sports stars are now matching appearance fees with able-bodied Olympians.
“Olympians have always been popular in the corporate speaker market but, since the Paralympic Games, demand for Paralympians has been through the roof,” Perming Artistes Director Matthew Fisher told CN. “The Paralympic Games captured the imagination of the British public and these athletes are more in demand than ever before. In terms of fees they can command, Paralympians are now competing on the same level as former Olympians.”
Some Paralympians booked to deliver a 30-minute keynote speech at a corporate function can earn up to £10,000 per engagement, the agency claims.
“It used to be the case that Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was the only Paralympian well known enough to be in demand as a public speaker,” says Perming Artistes Director, JJ Jackson. “The high profile of the Paralympics and the permances of Britain’s Paralympic athletes have proved a real game-changer in our industry.”
Among the 2012 Paralympians in demand on the corporate speaker market are British Cycling GB squad member Karen Darke (pictured), who won a Silver medal, and Sarah Storey, who won World and Paralympic Gold medals in both swimming and cycling and four Golds at London 2012.
The success of the 2012 Games has also boosted corporate interest in former Paralympians including four-time Paralympic swimming champion Marc Woods, and Danny Crates, a former British athlete and Paralympic world record holder who specialised in 800m sprinting.
Perming Artistes secures corporate work for a range of speakers, including middle-distance Olympic runner Steve Cram MBE, former England Manager Kevin Keegan OBE, former Conservative Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo, writer and broadcaster Giles Brandreth and comedians Ed Byrne and Jo Brand.
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