The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has issued a response to six nations planning to boycott the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games opening ceremony.
Less than a week after the closing ceremony of what was a hugely entertaining and, at times, controversial Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, attention now turns to the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games.
The opening ceremony will take place in Verona, Italy, on Friday, 6 March.
However, before the sport has begun, six nations have already reportedly confirmed that they will not attend the opening ceremony due to six Russian and four Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete under their respective nations’ flags at the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.
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Athletes from both nations had been banned since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Belarus, which borders both Russia and Ukraine, has been supportive of the Kremlin and is seen as an ally of Vladimir Putin’s government.
Russian athletes have not been able to compete under their nation’s flag since the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, initially due to the nation’s state-sponsored doping programme, and later following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding, sports which are not governed by the IPC.
The individual governing bodies for the sports, including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), have not lifted their bans. However, Russia and Belarus are able to compete after winning an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIS’s stance.
According to France Info, Finland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Czechia will also boycott the opening ceremony.
The IPC’s president, Andrew Parsons, has already addressed the matter and admitted that the committee has no power to overturn CAS’ decision, while also stating that the governing body “respects” the boycotting nations’ stance.
BBC Sport previously reported that the Ukrainian federation has requested that their flag not be flown at the ceremony.
But could the boycotters face sanctions?
SPORTbible contacted the IPC for comment, with the organisation explaining that all National Paralympic Committees competing are “invited and encouraged to attend” the ceremony.
A statement released to SPORTbible read: “There is no official obligation for NPCs to attend the Opening Ceremony and they may choose not to participate for various reasons. We respect and understand that there can be different reasons for athletes and delegations not to participate – for example, in December several NPCs, including NPC Czechia, informed the IPC they would not be attending because they were prioritising athletic performance due to competition beginning early the next day.”
The following day, Para alpine skiing and wheelchair curling will get underway at 09:30 local time, before Para biathlon and Para ice hockey at 10:00.
The Winter Paralympics will run from 6–15 March.
Topics: Paralympics, Russia, Ukraine, Olympics
Luke Davies