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| Part of 2026 Winter Paralympics | |
| Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, hosted the closing ceremony | |
| Date | 15 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Time | 20:30–23:00 CET |
| Venue | Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio |
| Location | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
| Also known as | Italian Souvenir |
| Filmed by | Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) |
The closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympics took place on 15 March 2026. Entitled "Italian Souvenir", the ceremony was held in the Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio (named Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium during the Games). The city of Cortina d'Ampezzo was chosen to host the ceremony, which previously did so during the 1956 Winter Olympics. [1]
The ceremony was held indoors at Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio, and was led by artistic director Angelo Bonello. [2] The theme of the ceremony was "Italian Souvenir", following the dream-like journey of Sofia Tansella, a young Italian girl with spinal muscular atrophy. [3] The ceremony was described as a design of memories, highlighting the sporting success and the beauty of the Italian mountainous regions of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. [4]
The ceremony featured a performance by the Italian electronic group Planet Funk, as well as artistic elements by Dergin Tokmak, a solo performer from Cirque du Soleil, and a musical segment led by the musician Formisanoff.
The Paralympic flag was lowered and handed over to representatives from the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur in France, which will host the 2030 Winter Paralympics in the French Alps. The ceremony concluded with the simultaneous extinguishing of the Paralympic cauldrons in both Milan's Arco della Pace and Cortina’s Piazza Dibona and Cortina d'Ampezzo. [5] [6]
The ceremony took place at the arena from 20:30-23:00 CET. The Paralympic flag handover ceremony featured the deputy mayor of Milan [[ and the mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo Gianluca Lorenzi, International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, and the presidents of host regions of the 2030 Winter Paralympics: Renaud Muselier (Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur) and Fabrice Pannekoucke (Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes). [7]
Yhe theme of the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics, held at the Olympic curling arena in Cortina D'Ampezzo, was "Italian Souvenir". It followed, through dance and music, the ambitions of a young girl, played by Sofia Tansella who has spinal muscular atrophy, to see her dreams represented in the world.
The Paralympic flag was also passed to the French Alps 2030 organising committee who will stage the next winter Games, before the flames in both Milan and Cortina were extinguished.