Russia and Belarus have marked their return to the Winter Paralympics amid calls for “peace, inclusion, and solidarity” at the opening ceremony.
The Russian flag was flown at the Paralympics for the first time in more than a decade, with Ukraine among eight countries to boycott Saturday morning’s AEDT opening ceremony at Verona Arena in protest.
Severely disrupted global air travel following the US’s joint military strikes with Israel on Iran only compounded the ceremony’s attendance woes.
Iran’s sole Paralympian Abolfazl Khatibi Mianaei was forced to withdraw from the Games just hours before the opening ceremony as he could not travel safely to Italy.
Great Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and France were among 29 of the total 55 participating countries who did not send athletes to the ceremony, due to a tight turnaround with the competition start.
Unlike last month’s Winter Olympics, which had four separate venues to accommodate the most spread-out Games in history, the Paralympics opening ceremony was held only in Verona.
Russia and Belarus were represented by just two athletes each.
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) last week invited 10 Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the Games.
Performers thrilled the crowd during the opening ceremony. (AP: Antonio Calanni)
Ukraine was joined by Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in their boycott of the opening ceremony.
Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine but had been sanctioned since the 2014 Sochi Games due to the country’s state-sponsored doping program.
The countries’ athletes then transitioned to individual neutral athletes at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.
Giovanni Malago, the head of the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic organising committee, called for peace in his address at the opening ceremony.
Spectators were treated to breathtaking performances in Verona. (AP: Antonio Calanni)
“Of course, we cannot ignore that these Games take place in a deeply divided world, torn apart by [the] worst grief and suffering at one of the most dramatic turning points of our time,” Malago said.
“For this reason, the message of peace, inclusion and solidarity at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic movement is more meaningful and more important than ever.”
Pre-recorded footage of countries’ larger squads was projected into the venue, with Australia represented by just three athletes of its 14-person team in Verona.
Australian athletes participated in the opening ceremony. (AP: Antonio Calanni)
Para alpine skier Georgia Gunew led Australia on her Paralympic debut, with fellow flag-bearer Ben Tudhope opting out of the ceremony due to para snowboard cross beginning the following day.
Tudhope is out to claim an elusive gold medal at his fourth Paralympic appearance, after his bronze in para snowboard was Australia’s only medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Forced to give up hockey because of her diminishing vision just eight years ago, Gunew was joined at the opening ceremony by guide Ethan Jackson and fellow para alpine skier Liana France.
France, 16, is Australia’s youngest female winter Paralympian.
Contemporary art was the main attraction at the ceremony, with The Police drummer Stewart Copeland and Italian house music producers Meduza performing.
AAP
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