Last week, Channel 4 hosted a reception to launch their involvement in the Paralympic Games, and what a brilliant evening it was.

There were so many people there who will be involved in the Paralympic project, including people from the Channel, representatives from several of the production companies who have been commissioned to produce Paralympic programmes, and many Paralympic sports had representatives and athletes present.

It was also nice to see that a number of Channel 4 celebrities, such as Gordon Ramsey, Jon Snow, Rick Edwards and Phil Spencer had chosen to attend and were really getting involved in the evening. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sight of Jon Snow and Gordon Ramsey fighting over the ball as they tried out wheelchair basketball!

Aside from talking to many of the people there, one of the most enjoyable parts of the evening was listening to David Abraham, the chief executive of Channel 4, present the plans for broadcasting the Paralympic Games.

He outlined the planned level of programming, which includes over 150 hours of live coverage of the Games, and about Channel 4’s innovative plans to make the Games more engaging than ever before.

But perhaps most importantly to me, he talked about the Channel’s commitment to challenging public perceptions of disability sport.

A few weeks ago I wrote on this site that I believe a massive shift in awareness and recognition for Paralympic sport and for Paralympic athletes is just as important as winning lots of medals in 2012.

Abraham’s speech last week confirmed that Channel 4 will not only provide fantastic coverage for the Games but also that they entirely support our view that success in 2012 will be measured in how far we can affect a change in the way the British public perceive disability sport and disability itself.

Like us, Channel 4 will continue to strive to do the best it possibly can, but equally important is the legacy that both organisations have the opportunity to leave behind.

And that is worth its weight in gold.

Phil Lane is the chief executive of ParalympicsGB