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 night's ceremony at the Arena di Verona.
Other nations, including Great Britain, have said they will not send athletic representation due to the imminent start of competition. The IPC estimates fewer than 60% of competing countries will send a full delegation. The UK government reiterated its opposition to Russian athletes competing under their own flag, stating there would be no representatives attending the event. However, Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock will be in Cortina to support 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, following a vote by the general assembly. He acknowledged the decision has not been well received in some parts of the world but stressed the IPC is a democratic organisation bound by its constitution. Russia and Belarus were banned from the 2022 Paralympics after the invasion of Ukraine.
Parsons said the IPC is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East but declined to comment on the risk of countries being unable to compete due to the conflict. He emphasised the Games' importance as a platform for social change for the world's 1.3 billion persons with disabilities.
The Winter Paralympics, marking its 50th anniversary, will be the biggest in history, with about 612 athletes from 56 countries expected to compete, compared to 474 from 38 nations at Torino 2006. The event will span from Milan to Cortina, including Tesero, making it the largest Paralympic Games in geographic scale.
