2026 Winter Paralympics open amid record fields, ceremonies and early wheelchair curling action
The International Paralympic Committee is hailing the biggest-ever Paralympic Winter Games, with 56 nations and 616 athletes slated to compete, as the 2026 Winter Paralympics move toward an opening ceremony scheduled for Friday, 6 March at the Verona Arena from 19: 00. The ceremony is already expected to be boycotted by some nations over the return of the Russian flag and national anthem.
2026 Winter Paralympics: opening ceremony in Verona
The opening ceremony at the Verona Arena is scheduled to begin from 19: 00 on Friday, 6 March, and organisers say the program will blend spectacle and culture with musical acts slated to perform, including The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, Italian singer Mimi Caruso and DJ Miky Bionic, who will perform with an advanced bionic hand. Volunteers will carry the flags for all nations in Verona because not all flagbearers will be able to attend the ceremony for logistics and training reasons; Iran named para cross-country skier Aboulfazl Khatibi as its flagbearer but he will not actually carry the flag on Friday.
Wheelchair curling started March 4 with round-robin matchups
Sporting action began on Wednesday, 4 March with wheelchair curling matches in Cortina d'Ampezzo, and round-robin play continued on Thursday, 5 March with players such as Laura Dwyer of the United States competing against Estonia. Great Britain’s mixed doubles pair Jo Butterfield and Jason Kean faced the United States at 08: 05 in the fourth of seven round-robin matches, while the U. S. pairing of Laura Dwyer and Steve Emt finished ninth at the last World Championships. Dwyer first took up wheelchair curling in 2019 and was an alternate at the 2022 Games; Emt took up wheelchair curling in 2013 and this is his third Games after competing in 2018 and 2022.
IPC highlights record fields and female participation
The IPC emphasized that the Milan-Cortina program features 79 medal events across six sports — Para-Alpine skiing, Para-biathlon, Para-cross-country skiing, Para-ice hockey, Para-snowboard and wheelchair curling — and that the current Games surpass the previous Winter record of 564 athletes from 49 nations at Pyeongchang 2018. The Milan Cortina Games also mark the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics; the IPC noted that the first Winter Games in Örnsköldsvik in 1976 featured fewer than 200 athletes from 18 countries.
Italy last staged the Winter Paralympics in 2006 in Turin, when 474 athletes from 38 countries competed across 58 medal events and wheelchair curling made its debut. The sporting schedule will pause on Friday evening for the Verona ceremony, with competition set to resume after the event.
Competition continues across Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Milan-Cortina venues, with the opening ceremony at Verona Arena from 19: 00 on Friday, 6 March the next confirmed milestone on the schedule.
