Germany shows solidarity with Ukraine: another country joins boycott of Paralympics-2026 opening ceremony

Germany's national team will not take part in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Paralympic Games in Verona.

Source: German National Paralympic Committee

Details: The organisation criticised the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), which granted wild cards to athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina. In response, and as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, German para-athletes will join the boycott of the opening ceremony.

"Against this backdrop, we have jointly decided that Team Germany at the Paralympic Games will not participate in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony in Verona. This decision serves both to focus on the upcoming competitions and to respectfully express our solidarity with the Ukrainian delegation.

Team Germany at the Paralympic Games will take part in the pre-recorded video segments to be shown during the opening ceremony, as originally planned. In doing so, the team combines a focus on sporting performance with a clearly defined position grounded in values," the statement reads.

Background:

• The IPC admitted 10 Russian and Belarusian para-athletes to the Paralympics, who will compete under their national flags.
• In protest, Ukraine announced a boycott of the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games and called on other participating countries to join it. As of 4 March, 11 national teams will ignore the ceremonial event, which is set to take place on 6 March in Verona, Italy.

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