Milano Cortina 2026: Italy says arrivederci to the Paralympics with dazzling Ceremony

Italy is turning on one last party before it farewells the Para athletes who shone on the slopes and ice at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

Cortina awoke to a winter wonderland with snowcapped rooftops and pine trees on 15 March, the closing day of the Games. 

It has been a record-breaking Paralympic Winter Games, featuring 611 Para athletes from 55 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) who competed in 79 medal events across six sports. The Games surpassed the competitor record set at PyeongChang 2018.  

Five NPCs made their Winter Games debut, with El Salvador, Haiti, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Portugal all competing for the very first time.

China topped the medals table 44: 15 gold, 13 silver and 16 bronze medals, followed by the USA (13 gold, five silver, six bronze). Russia was in third spot with eight gold, one silver and three bronze. 

Home crowds buoyed Italian athletes, who surpassed the country’s previous best medal haul of 13 podium finishes from Lillehammer 1994 to claim an impressive 16 medals – seven gold, seven silver and two bronze.  

Italian souvenir

Paralympians gathered for one last party at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, the same venue that staged a dramatic wheelchair curling mixed team gold medal match the previous night. Titled ‘Italian Souvenir’, the Closing Ceremony, presented by artistic director Angelo Bonello and creative director Francesco Paolo Conticello, showcased an explosion of emotion and energy. 

Spectators followed the journey of Sofia Tansella, an Italian girl with spinal muscular atrophy. She is a little girl with big dreams. A snowflake metaphor captured both the fragility and resilience of athletes. 

Dergin Tokmak, a solo performer from Cirque du Soleil appeared on stage, playing an athlete with crutches. He then transferred to a wheelchair. 

A group of dancers in white body suits grooved with colourful glow-in-the dark ropes to a wild techno beat. Luminous ropes formed the Italian flag. 

As spectators cheered, six athletes, including Italian Para swimming star Simone Barlaam and Para athletics gold medallist Martina Caironi, carried out the Italian flag.

Magical Games

The Italian medallists received a standing ovation as they entered the stadium. Tina and Milo, the mascots of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic and Olympic Winter Games, were on hand to bring theatrics and fun as the parade of flags kicked off.

Fresh from a down-to-the-wire wheelchair curling mixed teams victory against China, Canadian flagbearer Mark Ideson said he would leave Cortina with a gold medal round his neck and joyful memories of the competition.

“Just turning to look at the crowd when we realised we won gold, seeing my wife and my kids and my mum in the crowd... It was an incredible moment I’ll never forget,” Ideson said. 

The USA’s Oksana Masters, who netted four gold medals in Para cross-country skiing and Para biathlon hailed the magic and charm of Italy. 

"There's something in Italy and the air, and the coffee, the pizza, that is treating me well," she said. 

German Para cross country and biathlete Leonie Maria Walter lauded the atmosphere and the Italian hospitality.

“It's the fire in all the people that come here and look to us. I think it's special,” she said. 

Chinese wheelchair curler and silver medalist Nana Li said she will go home with deeper bonds with her teammates. 

“I love the beautiful mountains here and playing in front of the big crowd. I loved the food, especially the strawberry cake at the Paralympic Village,” she said.

The Italian flag was carried by Para snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner, who won two gold medals on his Paralympic debut. 

From Milano Cortina 2026 to French Alps 2030

The ceremony took a moment to pay tribute to the tireless dedication, energy and warmth that volunteers have brought to Milano Cortina 2026. 

Dance and music were at the centre of the party, as Italian-Bulgarian musician Formisanoff, dressed like an ice queen, took the audience on a musical journey from a mountain peak into the winter landscape of the Dolomites. The scene burst into a kaleidoscope of images. 

The mountain took centre stage as performers embodying the alpine community carried cubes that transformed into ice and snow. A snowflake image reappeared. And a mountain took shape - a metaphor for the Paralympic Winter Games - transforming obstacles into opportunities. 

The sequence ended with dancers appearing on a projected postcard. 

The Paralympic Flag was lowered while the Paralympic Anthem rang out.  

Representatives of Milano and Cortina d'Ampezzo presented the Paralympic Flag to the International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons. He waved the flag and passed it to the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions presidents, Renaud Muselier and Fabrice Pannekoucke, who represent the next Paralympic Winter Games hosts. 

As French athletes were welcomed to the stage, spectators were given an artistic taste of what a French Alps 2030 Paralympics will mean. Stunning vistas of the French Alps alternated with images of French athletes, guided by the rhythm of drums.

Meet again in the French Alps

In his Closing Ceremony speech, IPC President Parsons spoke of the legacy of Milano Cortina 2026. 

“From the fashion capital Milan, to the magnificent alpine peaks of Val di Fiemme and Cortina d’Ampezzo, we witnessed extraordinary sporting moments that did more than win medals; they won hearts, changed attitudes and challenged assumptions,” he said. 

Addressing the athletes directly, he praised their courage and resilience. 

“You reminded the world that ability is not defined by limitation, but by determination, courage and the pursuit of excellence,” he said. 

“These Games offered something powerful and refreshing: proof that sport can unite us through respect, fairness and human achievement.” 

Parsons officially declared the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games closed. 

“I call upon Paralympic athletes from all over the world to meet again in the French Alps in four years’ time when, once again, Paralympic sport will transform the world,” he said. 

Memories are forever

Dancers presented the grand finale as a fog filled the stage. From the fog a pulsating sphere of light emerged.

It was a snow globe, an 'Italian Souvenir' - a gift to Cortina residents and the whole world who have celebrated the Winter Paralympics. 

Sofia Tansella returned to blow out the fire, as the two cauldrons, in Milano and Cortina, were extinguished simultaneously, marking the end of the Paralympic Winter Games.  

Italian band Planet Funk rounded off the Ceremony with one last postcard from Cortina.