Winter Paralympic Games in Verona opened in the shadow of war and disputes over the Russian return
The opening of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, held on Friday, March 6, in the Arena di Verona, was supposed to be a ceremonial start to the largest winter parasport event in history. Instead, the first major image from the ceremony immediately showed that international sport had once again failed to separate itself from political reality. The return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under national flags, for the first time after years of restrictions linked to the invasion of Ukraine, provoked open disapproval from some participating countries and a boycott of certain official elements of the opening. The evening was given additional weight by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, because of which Iran was left without the only athlete who was supposed to compete at the Games. Thus, an event that was meant to celebrate sport, inclusion and the endurance of persons with disabilities became, on its very first evening, a reflection of deep disputes in international relations.
According to the official programme, Milano-Cortina 2026 runs from March 6 to 15, with competitions scheduled in several Italian centres, and the International Paralympic Committee announced 79 medal events in six sports. For months, the organisers and the IPC had stressed that they wanted to present the Games as an edition that would combine top sporting quality, historic Italian locations and a strong message of accessibility. The opening ceremony in Verona was conceived under the title Life in Motion, and in public announcements it was described as an ode to movement, life and the energy of the Paralympic movement. But as soon as the parade of national delegations began entering the amphitheatre, it became clear that attention would be difficult to keep focused only on symbolism and the artistic programme.
The return of flags that reopened an old dispute
The most sensitive issue was the one that had followed the Games even before they began: why Russian and Belarusian athletes had once again been given the opportunity to compete under their state symbols. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the extraordinary decisions of sports bodies that followed, the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus became one of the most controversial issues in international sport. In the meantime, participation models shifted from a total ban to neutral status, and the decision to allow the return of national insignia for some countries and delegations at the Winter Paralympic Games in Italy was received as a politically and morally problematic move.
The reaction at the ceremony itself was highly indicative. According to reports from the venue, the Russian flag in the parade of nations was not greeted with the applause that usually accompanies the entry of athletes, but mostly with silence, with limited support from the Russian delegation itself. By contrast, the Ukrainian flag received a noticeably warmer reception. In this way, the audience, even without formal political slogans, sent a message that the issue of Russia’s participation remains an open wound in European and world sport. In such an atmosphere, even the protocol gesture of delegations entering ceased to be a neutral part of the ceremony and turned into a kind of political test.
It should be emphasised, however, that some absences from the opening were not motivated exclusively by politics. Because of the distribution of venues and logistical challenges, some teams had not planned to send full delegations to Verona anyway. Still, several European countries publicly or semi-publicly linked their limited engagement in the ceremony precisely to disagreement over the Russian and Belarusian participation. Ahead of the opening, it was particularly highlighted that certain countries would boycott the ceremony itself or its political-protocol segments, thereby seeking to avoid the impression of normalising relations at a time when the war in Ukraine has already entered its fourth year.
The Ukrainian perspective: sport between duty and trauma
For the Ukrainian delegation, as well as for some countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the disputed issue was not only sporting but existential. For years, Ukrainian representatives have warned that in their case this is not an abstract political conflict, but a war whose consequences are felt by athletes, their families and sports infrastructure. That is why every return of Russian national symbols to a major international stage is for Kyiv much more than a procedural decision. It is perceived as a message about how prepared the international community is to maintain principle when global attention begins to dilute over time.
That is precisely why Ukrainian reactions to the opening were not merely diplomatic. In public statements accompanying the ceremony, it was emphasised that Paralympic sport cannot be isolated from the reality in which Ukrainian cities continue to suffer the consequences of war. For Ukrainian athletes, competing at the Games therefore carries a double weight: on the one hand, it is the peak of the sporting cycle, and on the other, an appearance under enormous emotional and symbolic pressure. From that perspective, the entry of the Russian flag into the stadium does not look like a technical rule, but like an act that deeply intrudes into the very credibility of the messages of solidarity and respect for human dignity that the Paralympic movement regularly highlights.
At the same time, Ukraine was not the only one to greet such a decision with disapproval. Other countries in the region as well, especially those that view Russia’s war and security threats through more immediate geopolitical experience, signalled that they did not want to participate in the ceremony as if it were an ordinary sporting event. Because of this, the opening in Verona had, even before it began, the contours of a divided stage: on one side organisers trying to maintain a ceremonial tone, and on the other delegations showing that political normalisation was not acceptable to them.
The Middle East further changed the tone of the evening
That the geopolitical shadow would not stop at the European battlefield was also shown by the case of Iran. Immediately before the opening, it was confirmed that Iran would nevertheless not compete at the Games because its only qualified athlete, para-skier Aboulfazl Khatibi, could not travel safely to Italy. According to information conveyed by the IPC and world agencies, the Iranian side’s assessment was that, because of the current conflict and security circumstances, it was not possible to ensure a safe journey to the venues. Thus, Iran, which was supposed to have a symbolically modest but important presence for its delegation, disappeared from the competitive picture even before its first appearance.
That news further changed the meaning of the ceremony. It was no longer talked about only whether sport can be separated from the war in Ukraine, but also about how vulnerable international sporting events are to sudden security shocks in other parts of the world. IPC President Andrew Parsons said that the risk to human life was too high and that the organisers had tried to find solutions, but without success. Such a statement served as a reminder that behind major sporting images and television broadcasts stand very concrete logistical and security problems, especially when air corridors are closing, communication with national federations is becoming more difficult, and the political situation is changing from day to day.
Iran’s absence also had a strong symbolic dimension. In the parade of nations, the Iranian flag was supposed to be visible as a sign of the country’s participation in the Games, but after the decision to withdraw, that plan was removed. In the context of the evening, this further reinforced the impression that the Games were opened at a moment when the international order appears extremely unstable. While one part of the debate was focused on who was allowed to compete, the other concerned those who could not even reach the start because of war and security threats.
Organisers between the sporting message and political reality
The Milano-Cortina 2026 Foundation and the IPC sought, ahead of the Games, to stress that this was a historic edition. Official announcements highlighted the number of disciplines, the geographical spread of the hosting, the torch programme and the symbolism of the Arena di Verona as a place that unites history, culture and contemporary accessibility. The ceremony was presented as a celebration of life in motion, and the organisers particularly emphasised that works in the Arena area were also aimed at improving access for persons with disabilities. In that sense, Verona was not chosen only for visual impression, but also to show how heritage spaces can be adapted to modern standards of inclusion.
But it was precisely the contrast between that official message and the real political background that made the opening so complex. On the one hand, the Paralympic movement rightly insists on stories of resilience, sporting progress and the social visibility of persons with disabilities. On the other hand, international sports organisations increasingly find themselves in a position where their decisions on athletes’ participation, the status of flags and protocol rules are interpreted as political statements. Even when they claim to be following procedure and internal rules, the consequences of those decisions do not remain in the sphere of technical management, but move directly into the realm of international politics.
That is exactly what happened in Verona. The artistic programme, musical performances and the symbolism of the flame remained an important part of the evening, but the media and political framework took precedence. The ceremony was thus divided between two stories unfolding simultaneously: the official one, about the opening of a major parasport event, and the unavoidable one, about how the world has changed to such an extent that even the Paralympic ideal can no longer count on a temporary respite from geopolitics.
What these Games mean for the Paralympic movement
Milano-Cortina 2026 has several levels of significance for the Paralympic movement. It is an edition that comes 50 years after the first Winter Paralympic Games, with record or near-record capacities in the number of disciplines, the expansion of sports and the visibility of the event. In official documents and announcements, the IPC stressed that 79 medal events in six sports had been confirmed for these Games, including a new element in the wheelchair curling programme. In sporting and organisational terms, this is an indicator of the growth and stabilisation of the winter Paralympic calendar.
However, the political contentiousness of the opening also raises the question of what kind of authority international sports institutions actually have today. After the experiences of 2022, when Russian and Belarusian athletes were expelled from the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing immediately before competition, every new decision on their status is necessarily seen as a message about the limits of sanctions, the manner of return and the criteria for sporting “normalisation”. That is why these Games are more than a competition: they are also a test for the IPC, which must explain why in one phase it excludes, and in another allows a return under national insignia, and how in doing so it aligns rules, membership pressures and the broader political context.
For the athletes themselves, however, that level of dispute often runs parallel to their everyday reality, rather than replacing it. In Verona too, it was possible to see how strong the desire was for the sporting part finally to come to the forefront. The athletes came to the Games after years of preparation, qualifications, rehabilitation processes and struggle for the visibility of their disciplines. Many of them have no interest whatsoever in being the face of geopolitical disputes, but circumstances push them precisely into that frame. Hence the lasting tension that accompanies events of this kind: institutions want to talk about sport, media and politics return the focus to international conflicts, and the competitors themselves try within that to preserve the meaning of their own performance.
Can the competition return the focus to sport
The question that now remains open is whether the competitions themselves in the days ahead can change the dominant tone of the story. It is usual that after a politically burdened opening, sports results, personal stories and medals gradually take centre stage. That may happen in Italy as well, especially if the Games offer top sporting drama, strong individual stories and good organisation at the venues. But the initial framework has already been set: Milano-Cortina 2026 will be remembered not only for sport, but also for having opened at a moment when the war in Ukraine, tensions over the Russian return and the security crisis in the Middle East directly spilled onto the Paralympic stage.
That is precisely why the first images from Verona carry a weight that goes beyond a single ceremony. They show that international sport today can hardly pretend to be a neutral space outside the world. The Paralympic movement still carries a strong, legitimate and socially important message about equality of opportunity, visibility and human endurance, but that message is increasingly breaking through a very loud backdrop of global conflicts. In Verona, that backdrop was especially loud: it was heard in the silence that accompanied the Russian flag, in the absence of the Iranian athlete, in the caution of delegations that did not want to participate as if everything were normal, and in the organisers’ efforts to open the Games with dignity despite everything. In doing so, the very first evening already showed that the Winter Paralympic Games in Italy had begun not only as a sporting event, but also as a precise reflection of the times in which they are being held.
Sources:
- International Paralympic Committee – official announcement on the Milano-Cortina 2026 programme, 79 medal events and athlete quotas (link)
- International Paralympic Committee – official announcement of the ceremonies and the theme of the Paralympic opening “Life in Motion” in the Arena di Verona (link)
- International Paralympic Committee – official information on the Paralympic Torch and the end of the relay on March 6 in Verona (link)
- Associated Press – report on the opening of the Games, the return of the Russian flag and the reactions of some delegations (link)
- The Guardian – report on the opening ceremony, the audience reaction and the political dispute over Russian participation (link)
- The Guardian – overview of the boycott by some countries and the broader dispute ahead of the opening ceremony (link)
- Associated Press – report on Iran’s withdrawal after the assessment that the only athlete could not travel safely to Italy (link)
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