The Paralympic torch was presented in a simultaneous event held in Milan in Italy and Osaka in Japan. It was revealed at the Triennale di Milano and at the Italian pavilion at Expo 2025 as a way of connecting the two twin cities, as Milan previously hosted Expo 2015.[14][15][16] The torch is bronze whereas the corresponding Olympic torch is light blue.[17]
Named "Essential"; developed by Eni and its subsidiary Versalis, designed by Studio Carlo Ratti Associati and produced in Italy by Cavagna Group, the torches are made primarily of an alloy of recycled aluminium and bronze. They run bio-LPG, a fuel made from renewable materials, produced at the Enilive[it] biorefinery in Gela, and have been designed to be refilled up to ten times in order to cut down on the number of torches produced.[18]
Volunteers
A total of 18,000 volunteers will be involved with both the 2026 Paralympic and Olympic Games. Applications for volunteering opened on 19 September 2024.[19] As of December 2024, almost 70,000 applications have been received.[20]
Ticketing
Tickets for the 2026 Paralympic Games start at €10 for children under 14. About 89% of all available tickets – more than 200,000 – are priced at under €35. Registration for the ticketing platform opened on 4 October 2024 and ticket sales started in March 2025.[21]
Medals
On 15 July 2025, the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Organising Committee unveiled the designs of the medals. The front side of each medal represents the Braille on the left and logo on the right, and the back is the Paralympics logo.[citation needed]
A number of delegations skipped the opening ceremony entirely; some of these absences were for logistical reasons, as Verona is 250 kilometres (160mi) from Cortina d'Ampezzo. A number of teams additionally boycotted the opening ceremony in protest of the IPC allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags.[25][26][27] 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,[27] while some[who?] of them are also facing challenges in getting to the event, due to the USA and Israel attack on Iran.[citation needed]
El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Portugal make their Winter Paralympic debuts. El Salvador is also the only country not participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics that will be participating in the 2026 Winter Paralympics. Six NPCs qualified athletes after missing previous Games: Armenia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Uzbekistan are participating for the first time since 2018, while Lithuania is participating for the first time since 1994.[citation needed]
Iran was scheduled to participate, but its only athlete withdrew a few hours before the opening ceremony due to being unable to travel to Italy as a result of the USA and Israel attack on Iran.[33]
The schedule for the 2026 Paralympics was released on 9 December 2024. Due to curling venue being used for the closing ceremony, the competitions will begin two days before the opening ceremony, with the first two rounds of the wheelchair curling mixed doubles.[35]
On 30 March 2021, following a public vote between two candidates designed by Landor Associates, a design named "Futura" was announced as the emblem of both the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The Paralympic version is coloured with a red, blue, and green gradient to symbolise an aurora and the colours of the Paralympic agitos.[37][38][39]
An online vote closing on 28 February 2023 was held among a list of candidates to select the mascots of the Olympics and Paralympics, with the winning candidates being inspired by stoats.[40] Their names were revealed to be Tina and Milo (derived from the names of the host cities),[41] with Milo, the brown stoat, being the Paralympic mascot. The character is portrayed as having been born without a leg and learned to use his tail as a leg. Milo represents ingenuity, willpower and creativity.[42]
Song
In March 2022, "Fino all'alba" (transl.Until dawn) by Arisa was unveiled as the official song for both the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.[43] The song was composed by Francesco Marrone and Giulio Gianni.[44]
Visual identity
The brand elements for both the 2026 Paralympic and Olympic Games were unveiled on 7 November 2024, drawing inspiration from gestures, which are commonly used in Italian communication. These include pictograms for the six Paralympic sports inspired by movements of athletes.[45][46] Five graphic elements named "vibes" were designed, with contemporary Italian figures selected to represent them on social media: musician Dardust (creativity), athlete Bebe Vio (energy), comedian Federico Basso[it] (imagination), chef Davide Oldani[it] (passion), and dancer Nicoletta Manni (style).[45]
Broadcasting
At least 300 hours of television coverage will be provided.[47] In October 2025, the European Broadcasting Union acquired rights to the Games in Europe, with rights to be sub-licensed to its members; the EBU re-gained the pan-European rights for the first time since 2018.[48] Rights agreements were also renewed with CBC Sports (Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Paralympic Committee), and Grupo Globo (Brazil).[49][50]
In September 2025, the IPC reinstated the Russian Paralympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to participate in IPC-sanctioned competitions with their flag and anthem.[57] The IPC cited a desire to separate politics from sport, and believed that continuing to ban Russia from competition while allowing Israel to participate despite the Gaza war was inconsistent.[26] The IPC noted in October 2025 that it was unlikely that Russia would be able to qualify any athletes to the Games: the FIS, IBU, and World Curling continued to prohibit Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in Olympic and Paralympic qualifying competitions, even under a neutral status,[58] and it was "not possible in practice" for Russia to qualify for Para ice hockey.[59] In December 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled in an appeal that Russian athletes who meet the IOC's criteria for individual neutral athletes, must be able to compete neutrally in FIS qualifying events for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.[60][32]
On 17 February 2026, it was reported that six Russian athletes and four Belarusian athletes across alpine skiing, cross country, and snowboard had been awarded invitations by the Bipartite Commission, allowing them to compete in the Games. Among the athletes invited was Russian skier Alexey Bugaev, a three-time Paralympic gold medalist. The decision was met with condemnation from Ukraine and its European allies, who considered it inappropriate for Russia and Belarus to return to international sport amid the still-ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.[31][32] Ukrainian sports minister Matvii Bidnyi announced that his officials would boycott the Games' opening ceremony and other events in protest, explaining that "in Russia, Paralympic sport has been made a pillar for those whom Putin sent to Ukraine to kill – and who returned from Ukraine with injuries and disabilities", and that "When the Russian flag is raised on the international stage, it becomes part of Russia's propaganda machine. It sends a message to the world that the war is 'normal'. No, it is not normal. It is deeply outrageous that officials of the IPC refuse to understand this."[61]
The decision has resulted in boycotts; Ukraine announced that their delegation would not attend the opening ceremony, while a number of other countries followed suit in solidarity. These boycotts did not impact athlete participation, while some of these countries, among others, had already planned to not send their athletes to the opening ceremony for logistical reasons.[27][25][26][62][62][63] EU commissioner for sport Glenn Micallef announced that he would not attend the opening ceremony, in solidarity with Ukraine.[64] Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne announced that it would not broadcast the opening ceremony,[65] while Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) announced that it would not broadcast any event featuring Russian or Belarusian athletes.[66]
The Ukrainian delegation provided its athletes with a ceremonial uniform decorated with a map of the country, including Crimea and Donbas. However, the IPC prohibited its use, claiming that the uniform had political content, which was not appropriate for the context.[67][68]
On 3 March, the Iranian Olympic Committee requested that the IOC and the Olympic Council of Asia address the attacks by the U.S. and Israel, alleging that they killed Iranian athletes, damaged sporting centers, and violated the Olympic Truce.[70] On the same day, the IOC issued a statement explaining that the Olympic Truce was an "an aspirational and non-binding resolution" and that it therefore had no means of formally enforcing it. The statement alluded only to "the most recent conflicts" and did not include any references to specific events. This was in contrast to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which the IOC and IPC quickly joined other sporting bodies in condemning.[71]
The IPC stated that it was monitoring the impact of the situation and Middle Eastern airspace closures on travel logistics, especially for athletes coming from the East Asia and Oceania regions.[72] On 6 March, the IPC confirmed that Khatibi Mianaei had withdrawn from the Games; president Andrew Parsons stated, "[W]ith the conflict ongoing across the Middle East, the risk to human life is too high", and said that damage to infrastructure in the country made it difficult to communicate with the Iranian delegation.[33]
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