Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics Open in Verona With a Record 611 Athletes
On the evening of March 6, 2026, the 14th Paralympic Winter Games opened at the Arena di Verona in Verona, Italy. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) reported that a record 611 Para athletes from 55 delegations are taking part, surpassing the competitor record set at PyeongChang 2018. The Games run through March 15, with 79 medal events across six sports at venues in Milan, Cortina and Val di Fiemme.
The opening ceremony drew on the Games theme, 'IT's your vibe,' under Artistic Director Alfredo Accatino and Creative Director Adriano Martella, built around the image of a drop of water transforming from liquid to solid. Italian wheelchair fencing champion Beatrice Vio carried the Paralympic torch into the arena, and two cauldrons, at the Arco della Pace in Milan and in Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo, were lit simultaneously by Gianmaria Dal Maistro and Francesca Porcellato, the first time in Paralympic Winter Games history that two cauldrons will burn throughout the Games in two different cities.
IPC President Andrew Parsons said that from 1976 to 2026, these Paralympic Winter Games will honour the past, celebrate the present and shape a more inclusive future. The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, officially declared the Games open from the Presidential Box. The Games mark 50 years of the Paralympic Winter Games and Italy's second time hosting them, after Torino 2006; Haiti, North Macedonia, El Salvador, Portugal and Montenegro are all making their Winter Paralympic debuts.
The Italian government invested EUR 20 million in improving accessibility in and around Verona, including parts of the Arena, ahead of the Games.
Related: Milano Cortina Winter Olympics Open With Four-Site Ceremony and Two Cauldrons Lit at Once
Related: Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics Close With China Topping the Medal Table at 15 Golds and 44 Medals
Source: International Paralympic Committee
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于意大利维罗纳的维罗纳竞技场外景，本届冬残奥会开幕式在此举行（资料照片）。Kevin Poh 摄，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Arena di Verona in Verona, Italy, where the opening ceremony of these Paralympic Winter Games was held (file photo). Photo by Kevin Poh, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2026-03-06Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics Open in Verona With a Record 611 AthletesThis story
- 2026-03-15Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics Close With China Topping the Medal Table at 15 Golds and 44 Medals
