2026 Winter Paralympics facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids
XIV Paralympic Winter Games

Host city

Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Motto

IT's Your Vibe

Nations

Athletes

612

Events

79 in 6 sports

Opening

6 March 2026

Closing

15 March 2026

Opened by

President Sergio Mattarella

Cauldron

Gianmaria Dal Maistro (Milan)
Francesca Porcellato (Cortina d'Ampezzo)

Stadium

Verona Arena (Opening ceremony)
Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium (Closing ceremony)

Winter

← Beijing 2022	French Alps 2030 →

Summer

← Paris 2024	Los Angeles 2028 →

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games were an amazing international sports event. They were the 14th edition of the Winter Paralympic Games. These games brought together incredible athletes from all over the world. They competed in various winter events. The games were organized by the International Paralympic Committee.

The competitions took place from March 6 to March 15, 2026. They were held in different locations across Lombardy and Northeast Italy. Some wheelchair curling events even started a bit earlier, on March 4.

This event was special because it marked 50 years since the very first Winter Paralympics in 1976. Italy was a host country for the third time. They previously hosted the first-ever Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960. They also hosted the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.

Many athletes achieved great things at these games. Brazil won its first-ever medal in Winter Paralympic history! This made them the first tropical, Latin American, and South American country to win a medal at the Winter Paralympics. Latvia also celebrated winning its first medal.

There were some discussions about which countries could participate. For the first time since 2014, athletes from Russia and Belarus competed under their national flags.

Welcome to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics!
See also

Welcome to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics!

The 2026 Winter Paralympics were a fantastic celebration of sport and determination. Athletes from many countries showed their incredible skills. They competed in six exciting winter sports.

Choosing the Host Cities

The process of choosing the host cities started a few years ago. In October 2018, Italy officially proposed Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo to host the Games. This proposal was shared with many sports committees.

On June 24, 2019, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo were chosen. They became the hosts for both the 2026 Paralympics and the 2026 Winter Olympics. The decision was made in Lausanne, Switzerland. They won against a bid from Sweden.

2026 Winter Olympics bidding results
Bid	Nation	Votes
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo	Italy	47
Stockholm–Åre	Sweden	34
One abstention or blank vote

Getting Ready for the Games

Many preparations went into making the 2026 Winter Paralympics a success. From flags to torches, every detail was planned carefully.

The Paralympic Torch Relay

The exciting torch relay took place from February 24 to March 6, 2026. Over 500 torchbearers carried the flame across 2,000 kilometers (about 1,240 miles). The flame was lit in the United Kingdom at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. It then traveled to five Italian cities.

The relay visited Cortina d'Ampezzo, Venice, and Padua. It finally arrived at the Verona Arena for the opening ceremony. The Paralympic torch was special. It was bronze, while the Olympic torch was light blue.

The Paralympic flame arrived in Mestre, Venice on March 4, 2026.

Volunteers and Tickets

A huge team of 18,000 volunteers helped with both the Paralympic and Olympic Games. They made sure everything ran smoothly. Applications for volunteering opened in September 2024. By December 2024, nearly 70,000 people had applied!

Tickets for the Paralympic Games were made affordable. Prices started at just €10 for children under 14. About 89% of all tickets, over 200,000, cost less than €35. Ticket sales began in March 2025.

Medals and Venues

The beautiful medal designs were revealed on July 15, 2025. Each medal had Braille on the front. This is a special writing system for people who are visually impaired. The Paralympics logo was on the back.

The games used five main competition venues. These were located in Northern Italy. There were also three Paralympic Villages. These villages provided homes for the athletes during the games.

Milan Cluster:
- Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena – Hosted Para ice hockey.
- Milano Paralympic Village – An athlete village.
Val di Fiemme Cluster:
- Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium – Hosted Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing.
- Predazzo Olympic & Paralympic Village – Another athlete village.
Cortina Cluster:
- Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre – Hosted Para alpine skiing.
- Cortina Para Snowboard Park – Hosted Para snowboard.
- Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium – Hosted Wheelchair curling and the closing ceremony.
- Cortina Paralympic Village – The third athlete village.
Verona:
- Verona Olympic Arena – Hosted the opening ceremony.

The Exciting Events

The games were filled with incredible moments, from the grand ceremonies to the thrilling competitions.

Opening and Closing Ceremonies

The opening ceremony took place on March 6, 2026. It was held at the historic Verona Arena in Verona. The theme was Life in Motion. Italian Paralympians Gianmaria Dal Maistro and Francesca Porcellato lit the Paralympic cauldrons.

Some teams chose not to attend the opening ceremony due to different reasons, including discussions about athlete participation. However, all participating countries were still honored in the parade of nations. Volunteer flag bearers and video clips represented the teams that could not attend.

The closing ceremony happened on March 15, 2026. It was held at the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The theme for this ceremony was Italian Souvenir.

Sports and Competitions

The Games featured 79 events across six exciting Winter Paralympic sports. A new event, mixed doubles in wheelchair curling, made its debut. A total of 612 athletes competed.

Para alpine skiing (30 events)
Para biathlon (18 events)
Para cross-country skiing (20 events)
Para ice hockey (1 event)
Para snowboard (8 events)
Wheelchair curling (2 events)

Nations and Athletes

A total of 55 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) qualified athletes for the Games. This was a great number of countries participating!

For the first time since 2014, athletes from Russia and Belarus competed under their national flags. This was different from how they participated in some recent games.

Some countries made their Winter Paralympic debut. These included El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Portugal. El Salvador was also the only country that participated in the Winter Paralympics but not the Winter Olympics in 2026. Several NPCs returned after missing previous Games, like Armenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Uzbekistan, and Lithuania.

Event Schedule

The schedule for the 2026 Paralympics was released in December 2024. Competitions for wheelchair curling started two days before the opening ceremony. This was due to new mixed doubles events.

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	N/A
Para alpine skiing				6		6	6		3	3	3	3	30
Para biathlon				6	6					6			18
Para cross-country skiing							6	6			2	6	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	13	6	10	79
Cumulative total	0	0	0	12	22	28	40	47	50	63	69	79	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

Medal Winners

* Host nation (Italy)

2026 Winter Paralympics medal table
Rank	NPC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	China	15	13	16	44
2	United States	13	5	6	24
3	Russia	8	1	3	12
4	Italy*	7	7	2	16
5	Austria	7	2	4	13
6	France	4	4	4	12
7	Ukraine	3	8	8	19
8	Canada	3	4	8	15
9	Netherlands	3	3	1	7
10	Sweden	3	0	4	7
11–27	Remaining NPCs	13	32	24	69
Totals (27 entries)	79	79	80	238

Brazil made history by winning their first Winter Paralympics medal! Cristian Ribera earned a silver medal in the men's sprint sitting event. Latvia also won their first Winter Paralympics medal. They took home a bronze in the mixed doubles curling event with Poļina Rožkova and Agris Lasmans.

Fun Facts and Symbols

The Games had many special symbols and traditions. These helped make the event memorable.

The Emblem and Mascots

On March 30, 2021, a design called "Futura" was chosen as the official emblem for both the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The Paralympic version used red, blue, and green colors. These colors symbolized an aurora and the Paralympic agitos logo.

The mascots for the Games were chosen through an online vote that ended in February 2023. The winning mascots were inspired by stoats. Their names were Tina and Milo. Milo, the brown stoat, was the Paralympic mascot. Milo was born without a leg and learned to use his tail as a leg. He represents cleverness, strong will, and creativity.

Tina and Milo, the mascots, at the Milan 2026 fanzone.

Official Song and Visuals

In March 2022, "Fino all'alba" (which means "Until dawn") by Arisa was unveiled. It became the official song for both the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Francesco Marrone and Giulio Gianni composed the song.

The visual identity for the Games was revealed in November 2024. It was inspired by gestures, which are common in Italian communication. This included special pictograms for the six Paralympic sports. These pictograms showed the movements of the athletes.

Watching the Games

At least 300 hours of television coverage was provided for the Games. In October 2025, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) got the rights to broadcast the Games in Europe. They shared these rights with their members. The EBU had not held these pan-European rights since 2018.

Broadcasting agreements were also renewed with CBC Sports in Canada. They worked with the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Grupo Globo also broadcast the Games in Brazil.