Controversy at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Olympics: Which countries are boycotting the opening ceremony?

Just a couple of weeks after the curtain came down on the 2026 Winter Olympics, sports action returns to Milan-Cortina with the start of the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

The Paralympic torch was paraded through the historic canals of Venice this week, en route to Verona for Friday’s opening ceremony, which will take place where the winter games ended - the 2000-year-old Roman amphitheater, Verona Arena.

A total of 56 nations will be participating in the 11-day event which got underway on Wednesday with the first heats of the wheelchair curling competition.

But before the Paralympics have even got officially underway, there have been issues brewing in the background. It is believed that several countries plan to boycott the opening ceremony in protest at the inclusion of Belarusian and Russian athletes, who have been granted permission to participate under their respective national flags.

Both countries have been temporarily banned from competing in Olympic competition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) - Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and continued military intervention along with Belarus for supporting them.

A total of 32 Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to compete at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris by the IOC - but only as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN). These athletes were not eligible to participate in any team events and the AIN delegation was banned from using the Olympic flag and Olympic anthem.

However, that is not the case at the 2026 Paralympic Winter Olympics Games in which six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be allowed to compete under their nations’ flags after being granted wild card slots.

Competing for Russia in Milan-Cortina are: Alexey Bugaev and Varvara Voronchikhina (Para alpine skiing), Ivan Golubkov and Anastasiia Bagiian (Para cross-country skiing), Dmitry Fadeyev and Philipp Shebbo (Para snowboard).

Meanwile, Raman Svirydzenka, Valiantsina Biryla, Lidziya Loban and Darya Fedzkovich (Para cross-country skiing) will be representing Belarus.

Which nations will be boycotting the opening ceremony?

Ukraine and Czechia were the first to state that their athletes would not be present at Verona Arena for the March 6 ceremony. Finland, Poland, Latvia and Estonia are also reported to be planning to stay away as a quiet form of protest.

The 2026 Paralympic Winter Olympics opening ceremony starts at 2:00 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (8:00 p.m. local time CET) and will air on USA Network.

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