The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has introduced new rules to prevent the “sexualisation of women athletes”.
The new rules for European TV networks will cover how live female athletics events, such as high jump and pole vault, are filmed.
Here’s what to know.
Background
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is a group of public service broadcasters across 57 countries in and around Europe.
It reaches over a billion people through television, radio and the internet, and is best known for running the Eurovision Song Contest.
EBU Sport executive director Glen Killane said athletes had “consistently spoken out” about sexualised, “selective camera angles and editing choices,” which he said “continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts.”
In response, the EBU, European Athletics and Olympians have developed the ‘Raising the Bar’ guide.
The new guidance could apply at the European Athletics Championships, which start on 10 August.
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Changes
Going forward, broadcasters must avoid:
- lingering close‑ups on specific body parts;
- Low‑angle shots filmed from behind or beneath athletes; and
- Slow‑motion replays that do not explain the action.
Instead, they’re encouraged to use wider angles that capture an athlete’s full movement.
British Olympic bronze medal pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, who worked on the new guidelines, said: “How our sport is displayed during live broadcast can be incredibly powerful yet sometimes harmful to the women competing and the women/girls watching."
She added: "I first-hand have received social media abuse and witnessed inappropriate videos online of myself and colleagues when slow-motion content of us competing is captured.”
