Creator: Worldwide Paralympic Committee (IPC)
Printed: 2025/03/05
Publication Sort: Announcement
Subject: 2026 Italy Paralympic Video games – Publications Record
Web page Content material: Synopsis – Introduction – Essential – Insights, Updates
Synopsis: This report highlights the anticipation and transformative affect of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games, anticipated to be essentially the most visually gorgeous and aggressive in historical past. With world-class athletes throughout six sports activities, the Video games promise thrilling performances that may captivate spectators and tv audiences. With IPC President Andrew Parsons predicting “essentially the most lovely Paralympic Winter Video games but,” the piece particulars the gorgeous venues throughout Italy and the anticipated world-class performances from athletes in six sports activities, from Para ice hockey to wheelchair curling. It is significantly helpful for sports activities fans, vacationers, and people fascinated about accessibility developments, together with seniors and folks with disabilities, because it outlines important infrastructure investments – like improved transport and barrier-free stations – already remodeling Italy. Past sport, the occasion is already driving important accessibility enhancements throughout Italy, together with enhanced public transport, barrier-free infrastructure, and accessible tourism initiatives. These developments guarantee lasting advantages for folks with disabilities, seniors, and the broader public, making the Video games a catalyst for social inclusion and progress – Disabled World (DW).
Introduction
The IPC President is anticipating world class sport from an occasion which is already remodeling the host nation. With one yr to go (6 March 2025), Worldwide Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Andrew Parsons has stated he totally expects Milano Cortina 2026 to be “essentially the most lovely Paralympic Winter Video games but” and believes the performances of Paralympic athletes throughout all six sports activities will “captivate the minds” of spectators and TV viewers alike.
Focus
Milano Cortina 2026 will mark the fiftieth anniversary for the reason that first Paralympic Winter Video games in 1976 and tickets for the occasion will go on sale on 5 March 2025 with an unique 24-hour pre-sales interval for Visa card prospects. Tickets will then go on common sale on 6 March with roughly 89 per cent of them costing EUR 35 or much less.
Based on the IPC President there’s a lot to be enthusiastic about for subsequent yr’s occasion.
“When it comes to venues, we’re in dreamland for Milano Cortina 2026, for sure they would be the most lovely Paralympic Video games but,” stated Parsons. “The Video games will start within the iconic Area di Verona, Para ice hockey will probably be held on the planet’s style capital Milan, the gorgeous Val di Fiemme will host Para biathlon and Para cross-country snowboarding, whereas Para alpine snowboarding, Para snowboard, wheelchair curling and the Closing Ceremony will happen on the coronary heart of the Dolomites in Cortina, one of many of essentially the most magical locations on earth. I can not wait to be there and for the motion to start!”
“Bringing the venues to life will probably be unimaginable Paralympic athletes delivering world class sport. At Beijing 2022 we noticed an entire new technology of younger medal profitable athletes emerge. 4 years later and with better expertise, the expertise will probably be even higher, making all of the sports activities much more aggressive and thrilling.”
“Whether or not it is the techniques and precision of wheelchair curling, the ability and brutality of Para ice hockey, the velocity of Para alpine snowboarding, stamina of Para biathlon and Para cross-country snowboarding, or ability ranges of Para snowboard, the game on the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games will probably be sensational and can captivate the minds of spectators and TV viewers alike.”
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games Opening Ceremony will probably be held on 6 March on the Area di Verona. As much as 665 Para athletes from 50 international locations are set to compete on the Video games, contesting 79 medal occasions throughout six sports activities.
Competitors in wheelchair curling will start on 4 March, two days forward of the Opening Ceremony. The game will characteristic two medal occasions – the blended staff competitors which debuted on the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Video games, and blended doubles which will probably be included within the Video games program for the primary time.
Transformational Impression
As with earlier Paralympic Video games, Milano Cortina 2026 is already having a transformational affect on the host nation.
EUR 20 million is being spent enhancing accessibility in Verona, together with on the Area di Verona which can host the Opening Ceremony.
Almost about transport and infrastructure, EUR 55 million is being invested in Milan to put in elevators and stairlifts to Metro stations on the remaining two traces that are at the moment not totally accessible. Within the Lombardy area, 53 new accessible trains have been ordered at a price of EUR 416 million whereas accessibility upgrades are deliberate at a number of stations, together with platform elevation, barrier elimination, new elevators, improved audio-visual data programs, and exterior space modifications.
Within the Province of Bolzano, almost all practice stations alongside the Val Venosta, Val Pusteria, Brenner, and Bolzano-Merano railway traces have been renovated and at the moment are barrier-free. The Valdaora-Anterselva station, a key hub for the Video games, has additionally been upgraded. In preparation for the Video games, the Province has acquired 15 further low-entry trains, permitting for step-free boarding.
The Municipality of Cortina, Province of Trento and Province of Bolzano are taking measures to enhance accessibility and implement packages that encourage accessible tourism for all. In 2023-2024, the Veneto Area additionally supplied funding of EUR 22 million to help accessible and eco-friendly hospitality infrastructure in mountain and Video games-related areas.
Parsons stated:
“The Paralympic Video games are essentially the most transformational sport occasion on earth; wherever the occasion is held, it triggers immense change impacting infrastructure, insurance policies and most significantly, lives.”
“What is occurring throughout Italy is monumental with a lot funding into infrastructure that may profit completely everybody for generations to come back. I can not thank the cities, areas and provinces concerned sufficient for his or her dedication to utilizing the Video games as a chance to advance accessibility and inclusion.
“From new accessible trains to barrier-free stations, accessible tourism for all to initiatives to drive sport improvement, it’s really implausible that the Video games have acted as a catalyst for all these vital initiatives. As soon as the game begins subsequent yr and the general public witnesses the performances of the Paralympic athletes, I’m assured the Video games will once more change attitudes in the direction of incapacity, additional driving social inclusion,” he added.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games will happen between 6-15 March 2026. Tickets begin from EUR 15 for adults and EUR 10 for underneath 14s.
Editorial Notice: The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games characterize extra than simply elite competitors; they embody the ability of sport to drive significant societal change. The funding in accessibility and infrastructure enhancements will depart a long-lasting legacy, reinforcing the Video games’ function in advancing inclusivity and equal alternative. The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Video games stand as greater than only a showcase of athletic prowess – they are a testomony to what occurs when a nation seizes a worldwide stage to rethink accessibility and inclusion. Parsons’ enthusiasm is not simply hype; it is rooted within the tangible shifts already underway, from Verona’s revamped area to Cortina’s mountain accessibility upgrades. This is not about fleeting inspiration – it is about concrete legacies, like new trains and stations that may serve Italians and guests lengthy after the medals are handed out. If the athletes’ performances match the ambition of those preparations, we’re in for a spectacle that might quietly reshape how the world sees incapacity, one accessible platform at a time – Disabled World (DW).
Attribution/Supply(s): This quality-reviewed publication was chosen for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) as a consequence of its relevance to the incapacity group. Initially authored by Worldwide Paralympic Committee (IPC) and printed on 2025/03/05, this content material might have been edited for model, readability, or brevity. For additional particulars or clarifications, Worldwide Paralympic Committee (IPC) could be contacted at paralympic.org NOTE: Disabled World doesn’t present any warranties or endorsements associated to this text.
