2026 (MMXXVI) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2026th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 26th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 7th year of the 2020s decade.
The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee to promote the Paralympic Games.
The 2012 Summer Paralympics torch relay ran from 22 to 29 August 2012, prior to the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The relay began with four flames kindled on the highest peaks of the four nations of the United Kingdom, which were then brought to their respective capital cities for special events honouring the upcoming Games. For the relay proper, the four national flames were united at a ceremony in Stoke Mandeville in preparation for a final 92-mile (148-kilometre) journey to London.
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.
The 2026 Winter Paralympics, officially the XIV Paralympic Winter Games and branded as 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.
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 Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn after entering the candidature stage, leaving Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm–Åre, Sweden as the only two remaining candidate bids.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 2016 Summer Paralympics Torch Relay was a 7-day event leading up to the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It began on September 1, 2016, in Brasilia and concluded at the Games' opening ceremony on September 7. The Paralympic torch relay began with five individual flames being relayed to a city in each of the five regions of Brazil. These flames, as well as a sixth flame lit in Stoke Mandeville, Great Britain, were united to form a single Paralympic flame, which was relayed through Rio on 6 and 7 September 2016 en route to its lighting at the Maracanã during the opening ceremony.
2026 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
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 2020 Summer Paralympics torch relay was held from 12 August 2021 to 24 August 2021. After being lit in multiple locations in Japan and Great Britain, the torch was intended to travel around Japan and end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The relay took place on a smaller scale than the Olympic relay, starting in Tokyo, with local flames lighted through Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures where events of the games were held. The relay ended at the 2020 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. The LIXIL Corporation was the presenting partner of the torch relay.
PalaItalia Santa Giulia is an under-construction Milan venue for the 2026 Winter Olympics as well as the 2026 Winter Paralympics. It will accommodate 16,000 spectators. After 2026 it will be used as the main venue for sporting and entertainment at the city, replacing the Mediolanum Forum.
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 closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics took place at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, China, on March 13, 2022.
The 2022 Winter Paralympics torch relay was a three-day event leading up to the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, China. In total, 565 torchbearers carried the torch.
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.
Tina and Milo are the official mascots of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Winter Paralympic Games. They are two anthropomorphic stoats.
The 2024 Summer Paralympics torch relay was held from 24 to 28 August 2024. The torch relay began with the lighting of the Paralympic Heritage flame in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, on 24 August. The next day, the torch arrived in France via the Channel Tunnel, thus beginning the torch relay. The torch was split into 12 parts and visited 12 different cities across France. The French leg ended during the opening ceremony when it was used to light the Paralympic cauldron. The cauldron was erected at the Tuileries Garden's central fountain. In total, the relay visited 50 cities and had 1000 torch bearers.
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.
