2026 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony
 | This article documents a current event and may change rapidly. (March 2026) |
| Part of 2026 Winter Paralympics | |
| Date | 6 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Time | 20:00 CET |
| Location | Verona, Italy |
| Filmed by | Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) |
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics is currently taking place on 6 March 2026. Entitled "Life in Motion", the ceremony will be held in the Verona Arena.
Preparations
[edit]The ceremony was produced by Filmmaster Group and led by artistic director Alfredo Accatino, who also oversaw the Winter Olympics' closing ceremony at Verona Arena.[1]
Ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics, the Verona Arena underwent a refurbishment in order to modernize aspects of its facilities. Part of this work included temporary accessibility enhancements in order to accommodate the Paralympics, including adjustments to seating areas, and the inclusion of ramps and lifts. Organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated that while some of these changes had been criticized for their modifications to the historic amphitheatre, "The decision to stage the opening ceremony in the [Verona Arena] is not just an aesthetic one although, of course, we like to showcase such a beauty. But it was also an idea, to make the arena accessible and not only the arena itself but the entire route from the railway station to the venue."[2][3]
Proceedings
[edit]Parade of Nations
[edit]A number of delegations are not sending their athletes to the opening ceremony; some of these absences are for logistical reasons due to the proximity of Verona to the two main host cities (Verona is 250 kilometres (160 mi) from Cortina d'Ampezzo). A number of teams are additionally boycotting the opening ceremony in protest of the IPC allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags, including Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.[4][5][6][7] Organisers stated that all participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) would still be featured in the parade of nations regardless of athlete presence, with volunteer flag bearers and video packages being used to represent NPCs which could not attend.[7]
Iran pulled out of the Opening ceremony and Paralympics all together a few hours before the opening ceremony was about to start.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Triple stage spectacle for Milano Cortina". Inside the Games. 2025-06-25. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (2025-11-26). "Roman amphitheatre older than Colosseum gets accessible facelift for Winter Paralympics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
- ^ "Arena di Verona enters inclusion era". Inside the Games. 2026-01-15. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (2026-03-05). "Seven countries to boycott Paralympics ceremony over flag-flying Russians". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
- ^ "Nederlandse officials uit protest niet naar openingsceremonie Paralympische Spelen". nos.nl (in Dutch). 2026-02-24. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (2026-02-28). "Winter Paralympics walks tightrope as Russia's inclusion risks ceremony boycott". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-03-02.
- ^ a b "More nations skip Milano Cortina Paralympics opening ceremony as boycott grows". Reuters. 27 February 2026.
- ^ "Iran withdraws from Milan Cortina Paralympics due to safety concerns". MSN News. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to 2026 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony at Wikimedia Commons
| Opening ceremonies |
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| Closing ceremonies |
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