The 2026 Winter Paralympics will begin on Friday 6 March at the Verona Arena with the usual opening ceremony which can be seen on TV on Rai 1 and in streaming on RaiPlay starting from 8pm. Directed by director Marco Boarino, the event aims to overcome the rhetoric of inclusion and redesign the way in which Paralympic sport is told, fusing contemporary art, live performance and multimedia technology. The aim is therefore not to spectacularize or label disability, but to describe it as an integral part of a shared world, in which all athletes, with and without disabilities, share the same space. Unfortunately, however, this declaration of intent does not coincide with reality.
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The ceremony will be divided into four acts
Returning to the ceremony, it will be structured into four main parts: Vibes, Spaces, Loves, Together. In Vibesthe vibration of the bodies will create a collective energy that will involve the space in a new way, transforming the arena into a living organism.
Spaces will explore the interactions between people and the environment, a symbolic gesture against every physical and mental barrier. Loves will celebrate love in all its forms, with a reference to Verona, city of eternal love, evoking Romeo and Juliet. In the end, Together will bring together international musicians and multimedia choirs in a rousing finale to the tune of In the blue painted bluemixing live performances and digital content.
International professionals and artists will perform
From the point of view of performances, there will be high-level professionals: DJs Meduza, Steward Copland, the former drummer of the Police, Dardust and international performers such as the étoiles of Cirque du Soleil, who are careful not to exploit animals for their shows. There will then be Michele Specchiale, the only DJ in the world to mix with a bionic hand thanks to a latest generation myoelectric prosthesis.
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Among them, also athletes with disabilities such as Daniele Terenzi, who created his first dance prosthesis. The choreography, curated with Yoann Bourgeois, will play with falls, gravity and centripetal spaces to create an inclusive and powerful visual language. The show will also host students from Italian academies.
Three Italian artists – Jago, Marina Apollonio and Emilio Isgrò – will enrich the ceremony with site-specific works and video installations, creating a dialogue between sport and contemporary art. Their presence transforms the narrative into an immersive experience, capable of communicating values of inclusion, creativity and participation.
Following the documentary on Nicole Orlando
But the emotions will not end with the conclusion of the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. To close the evening, again on Rai 2, the documentary will be broadcast Nothing specialdedicated to Nicole Orlando, paralympic athlete with Down syndrome. Directed by Alessio Di Cosimo, the film recounts his sporting and human journey, from speed races to long jumps, up to triathlon, alternating interviews with sports and entertainment personalities such as Javier Zanetti, Milly Carlucci and Gianni Morandi.
The documentary is not limited to medals: it explores Nicole’s daily life, her training, her family, her fragilities and her determination, showing how diversity becomes a resource and not a limit. An intense reflection and an invitation to look at sport and life with new eyes.
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