Seven countries and the British government will boycott the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympics in protest at the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) confirmed that the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine will not send athletes or officials to Friday's ceremony at the Arena di Verona.
The UK government said it would have no representatives attending, reiterating opposition to Russian athletes competing under their own flag. A statement said: 'We have been clear that the Russian and Belarusian states should not be represented in international sport while the barbaric full-scale invasion of Ukraine is ongoing.' However, Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock will be in Cortina 'purely to support our inspirational ParalympicsGB athletes'.
IPC President Andrew Parsons defended the decision to allow Russian athletes to compete under their own flag for the first time since 2014. Russia and Belarus were banned from the 2022 Paralympics after the invasion of Ukraine. Parsons said the decision, taken by the IPC general assembly last September, was democratic: 'We cannot pick and choose when to be democratic.'
Parsons acknowledged the decision was not well received in some parts of the world but stressed the IPC is a democratic organisation bound by its constitution. He noted that the assembly voted on the topic three times: full suspension in 2022, partial in 2023, and no suspension in 2025. The IPC also said it is monitoring the situation in the Middle East but declined to comment on the risk of countries being unable to compete.
The Games, marking the 50th anniversary of the Winter Paralympics, will be the biggest in history, with about 612 athletes from 56 countries expected to compete. Parsons emphasised the importance of the event: 'This is the only event of global reach that puts persons with disabilities centre stage.'
