Two weeks after the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Winter Games begin in Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, and Val di Fiemme. From March 6 to 15, around 665 athletes will compete in 79 events across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling.

Twenty years after Turin 2006, the Winter Paralympics return to Italy—50 years after their premiere in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Germany will be represented by 40 athletes and eight guides; only in Lillehammer in 1994 was the German team larger.

The opening ceremony will take place in the Arena di Verona, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The closing ceremony will be held at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where the Olympic Winter Games were opened in 1956.

The participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes has sparked controversy. Following a majority decision by the International Paralympic Committee, they will once again compete under their own flags and anthems. Several nations—including Ukraine, Finland, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, and the Netherlands—have therefore announced a boycott of the opening ceremony; the competitions themselves are not affected.