Location | Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
---|---|
Athletes | 600+ |
Events | 79 in 6 sports |
Opening | 6 March 2026 (in 15 months) |
Closing | 15 March 2026 |
Stadium | Verona Arena (opening ceremony) Cortina Ice Olympic Stadium (closing ceremony) |
Winter Summer 2026 Winter Olympics |
Part of a series on |
2026 Winter Paralympics |
---|
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games (Italian : Milano Cortina 2026 Giochi paralimpici invernali), also known as the 2026 Winter Paralympics (Italian : Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2026) and Milano Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international winter multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, scheduled to take place from 6 to 15 March, with the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo as hosts.
Organised by Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 and governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), this will be the third Paralympic Games hosted in Italy, following the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome (the inaugural Paralympic Games) and the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.
In October 2018, the Italian National Olympic Committee officially confirmed plans for a bid by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo to host the Games. [1] The bid was presented at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees on 28 November 2018 in Tokyo. [2] The two cities were elected as hosts of both the 2026 Paralympics and Olympics on 24 June 2019 at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, defeating Sweden's joint bid of Stockholm and Åre. [3]
Bid | Nation | Votes |
---|---|---|
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo | Italy | 47 |
Stockholm–Åre | Sweden | 34 |
One abstention or blank vote [5] |
The handover occurred during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China, on 13 March. The Paralympic flag was passed from Beijing mayor Chen Jining to IPC president Andrew Parsons, and then to Anna Scavuzzo, vice-mayor of Milan, and Gianpietro Ghedina, mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo. [6] [7] The flag was then flown back to Italy, where it arrived the following day. [8] The Paralympic flag is displayed in Milan's Palazzo Marino, where the Olympic flag is also displayed, until February 2026. [9]
The torch relay is scheduled to take place from 24 February to 6 March 2026, with 501 torchbearers covering 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi). The flame will be lit at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in United Kingdom, followed by flame festivals in five Italian cities; the relay will visit Cortina d'Ampezzo, Venice, and Padua, before ending at the Verona Arena for the opening ceremony. [10]
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. [11] As of December 2024, almost 70,000 applications have been received. [12]
Tickets for the 2026 Paralympic Games start at €10 for children under 14, with more than 200,000 tickets priced at under €35, corresponding to around 89% of all available tickets. Registration for the ticketing platform opened on 4 October 2024; ticket sales will start in March 2025. [13]
Five competition venues will be used for the 2026 Paralympic Games, in addition to non-competitive venues including three Paralympic Villages. [14]
The Games are expected to feature 79 events in six Winter Paralympic sports. A mixed doubles event will make its debut in wheelchair curling. [15] A total of 665 athlete quota places are available: 323 for men, 176 for women, and 166 gender-free. [16]
The following list follows one NPC, Italy as a host.
The schedule for the 2026 Paralympics was released on 9 December 2024. Competition will begin on 4 March, two days before the opening ceremony, with the first two rounds of the wheelchair curling mixed doubles, and end on 15 March 2026. [17]
OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | 1 | Event finals | CC | Closing ceremony |
March 2026 | 04 Wed | 05 Thu | 06 Fri | 07 Sat | 08 Sun | 09 Mon | 10 Tue | 11 Wed | 12 Thu | 13 Fri | 14 Sat | 15 Sun | Events |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ceremonies | OC | CC | — | ||||||||||
Para alpine skiing | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 30 | |||||
Para biathlon | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |||||||||
Para cross-country skiing | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 20 | ||||||||
Para ice hockey | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 | |||||
Para snowboard | ● | 4 | 4 | 8 | |||||||||
Wheelchair curling | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | ● | ● | 1 | 2 | |
Daily medal events | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 6 | 79 |
Cumulative total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 28 | 40 | 47 | 50 | 59 | 73 | 79 | |
March 2026 | 04 Wed | 05 Thu | 06 Fri | 07 Sat | 08 Sun | 09 Mon | 10 Tue | 11 Wed | 12 Thu | 13 Fri | 14 Sat | 15 Sun | Total events |
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 6 March 2026 at the Verona Arena in Verona, with production by Filmmaster Group . The closing ceremony is scheduled to take place on 15 March 2026 at the Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio in Cortina d'Ampezzo, with production by G2 Eventi – Casta Diva Group. [18]
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. [19] [20] [21]
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. [22] Their names were revealed to be Tina and Milo (derived from the names of the host cities), [23] with Milo, the brown stoat, being the Paralympic mascot. The character is portrayed as having been born without a leg, and represents ingenuity, willpower and creativity. [24]
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. [25] The song was composed by Francesco Marrone and Giulio Gianni. [26]
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. [27] [28] Five graphic elements named "vibes" were designed, with contemporary Italian figures selected to represent them on social media: musician Dario Faini (creativity), athlete Bebe Vio (energy), comedian Federico Basso (imagination), chef Davide Oldani (passion), and dancer Nicoletta Manni (style). [27]
Sponsors of the 2026 Paralympic Games [29] | ||
---|---|---|
Worldwide partners | ||
Premium partners | ||
Partners | ||
Sponsors
| ||
Supporters |
As with previous Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services will produce the feed used by broadcasters in their territories. [30] In Canada, the Paralympics will be broadcast by CBC/Radio-Canada platforms. [31]
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter Olympics, the first being in 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Italy had also hosted the Summer Olympics in 1960 in Rome.
The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956, were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956.
The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games, the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were also the first Paralympics to use the new Paralympics logo.
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, built in 30 AD. It is still in use and serves as a venue for large-scale opera performances.
The 1944 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games after the cancellation of 1940 Winter Olympics, were a planned international multi-sport event scheduled to have been held in February 1944 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The games were cancelled because of World War II alongside the 1944 Summer Olympics in London, Great Britain, and were the fourth games to be cancelled due to war.
Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1956 Winter Olympics from the 26 January to 5 February 1956 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This was the nation's third appearance at the Winter Olympic Games with their last appearance being in 1952.
The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.
The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Olympic Winter Games and also known as Milano-Cortina 2026, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in three regions, with the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo as main hosts.
A total of seven bids were initially submitted for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn after entering the candidature stage, leaving Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm–Åre, Sweden as the only two remaining candidate bids. Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo was elected as the host city at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.
The 2022 Winter Olympics closing ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing on 20 February 2022. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings are expected to combine the formal ceremonial closing of this international sporting event with an artistic spectacle to showcase the culture and history of the current and next host nation (Italy) for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 was a successful bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics by the cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Italian National Olympic Committee. The IOC selected Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo to host the 2026 Winter Olympics at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 June 2019.
The 2026 Winter Olympics and 2026 Winter Paralympics, hosted by the cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, will make use of 25 event venues across four clusters in northern Italy. These consist of nineteen existing venues, two newly-built venues, and four temporary venues. Over 90% of the venues consist of ones that already exist or temporary ones. The Games are reportedly set to be the most geographically widespread in Olympic history; the use of existing venues means the events will be held in an area spanning more than 22,000 square kilometres (8,500 sq mi).
The 2025 FISU Winter World University Games, also known as the XXXII Winter World University Games, or the 32nd Winter Universiade, and commonly known as Turin 2025 or Torino 2025, is a multi-sport event scheduled from 13–23 January 2025, in Turin, Italy. The Piedmontese capital was confirmed as the host city for the games on 15 May 2021. This will be the 7th time in the history that the event will be held in Italy and 2nd time in the city, as the 2007 Winter Universiade was also held there. The city is considered the birthplace of the event, as in 1959 Summer Universiade, its first summer and winter edition was also held there. Torino also hosted the 1970 Summer Universiade and is the second dual World University Games host city, as Sofia in Bulgaria is the first.
The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China, on March 13, 2022.
Italy competed at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China which took place between 4–13 March 2022.
The Milan Olympic Village is one of the Olympic Villages that will host the athletes participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics and the 2026 Winter Paralympics, which will take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in February and March 2026, alongside the Olympic Village in Livigno and the one in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games, officially known as the XII Special Olympics World Winter Games. and commonly known as Torino 2025, is a planned international multi-sport event. It will be the 12th Special Olympics World Winter Games. They are scheduled to take place in Turin, Piedmont, Italy from 8 to 15 March 2025. This marks the first time that Italy is hosting the Special Olympics World Games.
Tina and Milo are the official mascots of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games. They are two anthropomorphic stoats.
The torch relay for the 2026 Winter Olympics is planned to commence on 26 November 2025 in Olympia, Greece, and conclude on 6 February 2026 in Milan, Italy, coinciding with the opening ceremony at San Siro. The routes for both the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays were unveiled by the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 on 26 November 2024, one year before the start of the former.
The torch relay for the 2026 Winter Paralympics, jointly hosted by the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, is planned to run from 24 February to 6 March. Following the lighting of the Paralympic Flame in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, the relay will conclude in Verona, Italy, to coincide with the opening ceremony at the Verona Arena. The route for the Paralympic torch relay was presented by the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 on 26 November 2024, one year before the start of the Olympic torch relay, which was unveiled at the same time.