Preparations Underway for the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo

The 2026 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the XIV Paralympic Winter Games and branded as Milano Cortina 2026, are set to take place from 6 to 15 March 2026 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. This event will mark the third time Italy hosts the Paralympic Games, following the inaugural 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome and the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Turin.

The host cities were selected on 24 June 2019 at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, where Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo defeated Sweden’s joint bid of Stockholm and Åre with 47 votes to 34. The handover ceremony for the Paralympic flag took place during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing, China, on 13 March 2022.

The Games will feature 79 events in six Winter Paralympic sports, including para alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, para biathlon, para cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, para snowboard, and wheelchair curling. A new mixed doubles event will make its debut in wheelchair curling. A total of 665 athlete quota places are available, with 323 for men, 176 for women, and 166 gender-free positions.

The torch relay is scheduled to take place from 24 February to 6 March 2026, covering 2,000 kilometres with 501 torchbearers. The flame will be lit at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England and will visit several Italian cities before the opening ceremony at the Verona Arena. The closing ceremony will be held at the Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Ticket sales for the event will start in March 2025, with more than 200,000 tickets priced at under €35. Applications for volunteering opened on 19 September 2024, with a total of 18,000 volunteers expected to be involved in both the Paralympic and Olympic Games.