The 2026 Winter Paralympics open Friday, March 6, inside one of the world’s oldest Roman amphitheatres, launching ten days of elite adaptive winter sport across four locations in northern Italy.
Search interest in the 2026 Winter Paralympics has surged in the days leading up to the opening ceremony, with fans across the globe looking for schedules, streaming details, and athlete stories. The Games run from March 6 to 15, 2026, bringing together 665 Para athletes from 56 nations to compete across 79 medal events in six sports. It is the 14th edition of the Winter Paralympic Games and marks the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics as a global movement.
Some competition is already underway. Wheelchair curling and certain para alpine skiing events began on March 4, two days before the opening ceremony — a scheduling detail that caught some viewers off guard.
Opening Ceremony: A Roman Amphitheatre, Live Performers, and a Historic First
The opening ceremony takes place at the Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheatre built around 30–50 CE that predates the Colosseum. It will be the first ever Paralympic ceremony to be hosted in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. gsmarena The venue underwent extensive accessibility renovations ahead of the Games.
The ceremony’s theme is “Life in Motion” — a tribute to life as a system of change and transformation, connecting ability to the harmony of people and environment. gsmarena Italian writer and creative Alfredo Accatino, who directed the closing ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, is at the helm.
Performers include Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police, and Meduza, the acclaimed Italian house music trio. For U.S. viewers, coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. ET on USA Network with a preview show, with the live ceremony airing from 2 to 4 p.m. ET. A primetime replay airs Saturday, March 7, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. For the first time ever, NBCUniversal will provide American Sign Language interpretation for its coverage of the Paralympic Opening Ceremony on streaming platforms. gsmarena
The closing ceremony takes place March 15 at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium — the same venue that hosted the opening ceremony of the 1956 Olympic Winter Games — under the theme “Italian Souvenir.”
The Six Sports and Where They Are Held
Athletes will compete across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling. Tech Advisor Competition is spread across four locations: Milan, Verona, Tesero, and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Para alpine skiing runs from March 7 to 15 at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo — the same venue used during the Olympic Games. Events span downhill, super-G, slalom, giant slalom, and combined disciplines across sitting, standing, and visually impaired categories.
Para ice hockey is hosted at the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena, a brand-new 14,000-seat venue built specifically for the Milan–Cortina Games. Competition in the mixed-gender team event starts on March 7, with eight teams targeting the gold medal game on March 15 — the final event of the Games before the closing ceremony. Android Central
Para snowboard takes place at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park, with competition in banked slalom and snowboard cross on March 7–8 and March 14.
Wheelchair curling returns to Italian ice after making its Paralympic debut at Torino 2006. This year, mixed doubles wheelchair curling makes its Paralympic debut Smartprix, adding a new event format alongside the established mixed team competition.
2026 Winter Paralympics: Who Is Competing and What Is New
Five National Paralympic Committees will make their Winter Paralympic debut at Milan–Cortina: El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Portugal. 91mobiles El Salvador is also the only country competing in the Paralympics that is not competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Russian and Belarusian athletes will be permitted to compete under their national flags for the first time since 2014 91mobiles, reversing the neutral status imposed following the Russian doping scandal and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The decision has been controversial — several delegations are boycotting the opening ceremony in protest of the IPC allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags. 91mobiles
Team USA is sending 72 athletes — five more than the delegation it sent to the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics. Among the headline names, Oksana Masters enters as the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time, with 14 Winter Paralympic medals across her career. Sled hockey captain Declan Farmer leads what many consider the most successful para ice hockey program in the world.
The 2026 Games also mark the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympic movement, which traces its formal origins to Örnsköldsvik, Sweden, in 1976.
How to Watch the 2026 Winter Paralympics
For U.S. viewers, coverage of the 2026 Winter Paralympics spans NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, and NBCSports. Until the Opening Ceremony, coverage can only be viewed via streaming. The Opening Ceremony on March 6 airs live on USA Network, with CNBC carrying live event coverage in the days that follow. NBC picks up either live daytime coverage or primetime programming in the evenings. Between March 9 and 13, USA Network carries daily competition coverage. The Closing Ceremony airs on CNBC. Smartprix
The gold-medal para ice hockey game — the final sporting event of the Games — will air on NBC, not CNBC, giving it a mainstream prime-time platform.
All events are also available to stream on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, the NBC app, and the NBC Sports app. International viewers can access live coverage through Olympics.com and the official app in many territories.
The Games’ official mascot, Milo, is a stoat — a small mammal inspired by the letters in Milan and Cortina — designed by students from the Istituto Comprensivo of Taverna in Calabria in collaboration with Italy’s Ministry of Education.
The Torch, the Venues, and What Makes These Games Different
The Paralympic torch relay ran from February 24 to March 6, with 501 torchbearers covering 2,000 kilometres. The flame was lit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the United Kingdom 91mobiles — the birthplace of the Paralympic movement — before traveling through five Italian cities, visiting Cortina d’Ampezzo, Venice, and Padua, and arriving at the Arena di Verona for the opening ceremony.
The torch itself is named “Essential.” Developed by Italian energy company Eni and its subsidiary Versalis, it is made primarily from an alloy of recycled aluminium and bronze, designed by Studio Carlo Ratti Associati.
These Games are also the first Winter Paralympics since Vancouver 2010 where the opening and closing ceremonies are held at different venues, and the first since Tignes–Albertville 1992 to officially feature multiple host cities. With 665 Para athletes and 79 sets of medals, Milano Cortina 2026 will feature a record number of athletes and medals. Android Central
Ticket prices start at €10 for children under 14, with roughly 89 percent of all tickets priced at €35 or less — a deliberate accessibility decision by organizers.
FAQ
Q1: When do the 2026 Winter Paralympics start? The official opening ceremony is March 6, 2026, at the Arena di Verona. However, some events — including wheelchair curling and para alpine skiing — began on March 4. The Games conclude with the closing ceremony on March 15 in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Q2: Where are the 2026 Winter Paralympics being held? Competition takes place across four locations in northern Italy: Milan, Verona, Tesero, and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The opening ceremony is at the Arena di Verona — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world.
Q3: How many sports and events are in the 2026 Winter Paralympics? There are six sports — Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling — across 79 medal events. Mixed doubles wheelchair curling makes its Paralympic debut at these Games.
Q4: How can I watch the 2026 Winter Paralympics? U.S. viewers can watch on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, CNBC, and the NBC Sports app. The opening ceremony airs live on USA Network on March 6 at 2 p.m. ET, with a primetime replay on NBC on March 7 at 8 p.m. ET. International viewers can access coverage via Olympics.com and the official app.
Q5: How many athletes are competing in the 2026 Winter Paralympics? A record 665 Para athletes from 56 National Paralympic Committees are competing. Five nations — El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Portugal — are making their Winter Paralympic debut at these Games.
