Paralympics, braziers extinguished in Milan and Cortina

From the fog and light suggestions of Light Designer Daniele Davino a large mysterious object is revealed and takes shape. A pulsating sphere of light and magic. It is a boule de neige, our "Italian Souvenir" to give to the public in Cortina and the whole world who followed the Paralympic Games. It is the souvenir to take home. The smoke thins out and shows the landscape contained in the glass sphere: it is a fantastic scenario, but at the same time very real, a scenography created by Cristian Taraborrelli. An imaginary place made of mountains inscribed in the Milan skyline. We recognise the Duomo and next to it the Dolomites. The boule celebrates the great Italian challenge of Milan Cortina 2026, the union of city and mountain, modernity and nature. The two souls of the same country.

"Unfortunately, the time has come for me to declare the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games closed. I invite Paralympic athletes from all over the world to meet again in four years' time in the French Alps, when, once again, Paralympic sport will transform the world,' said International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, at the closing ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympics at the ice stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"Good evening Italia, good evening Cortina. Thank you all so much, you have made our time here very special," began the president of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons. "Paralympians. You have reminded the world that ability is established by will."

'Thank you all, the atmosphere is fantastic tonight, the flame of Milan Cortina has shone as a sign of unity. The curtain falls on the Olympic and Paralympic competitions, but not on their legacy. You can read it in the faces and in the passion of the athletes, technicians and volunteers. They were truly the Games of the people and for the people, the Italian Games for the Italians,' Giovanni Malagò began after greeting the authorities.

Organising Committee of the next Winter Games (the 15th edition). The Paralympic anthem resounds, then a spoken version of the Marseillaise.

The banner with the three Agitos - mind, body and spirit - is folded and handed over to the president of the International Paralympic Committee, Andrew Parsons.

At centre stage - almost like the tip of an iceberg - dances gymnast Giorgia Greco. Born in Milan in 2007, at the age of 5 she started practising rhythmic gymnastics but, when she was only 7 years old, in spring 2014, she was struck by an osteosarcoma that caused her right lower limb to become disarticulated. She turned dance into a tool for expression, freedom and inclusion. Through movement she tells a story of determination, resilience and passion, proving that talent and art can overcome any barrier.

The mountain becomes more and more protagonist with the entry of a multitude of performers embodying the alpine community: each one brings a cube that transforms into ice, snow, path, refuge, village. A game of shapes and volumes to build an environment in continuous transformation, to be conquered day after day, just as the athletes face their daily challenge to become champions and reach their peak.

A mountain takes shape before one's eyes, reflecting the profound meaning of the Paralympic Winter Games: transforming the obstacle into a trampoline, the limit into a horizon. And it is precisely on this peak that Giorgia Greco, a one-legged dancer, appears, a symbolic figure in this story. Her presence encapsulates the deepest sense of what we are seeing: not lack, but strength; not limit, but possibility. The highest point is not just a physical place, but the goal of a human journey, made up of courage, determination and beauty.

The second segment of the ceremony features Formisanoff, the artist who composed the event's soundtrack and who, with his cello, makes us fly from a mountain peak to the winter of the Dolomites, in a visual and aural journey. The power of his music is transformed into an energy that is released and radiates into the stadium. The whole story explodes in a kaleidoscope of images and music; the cello becomes an accelerator of impressions, emotions and shivers ready to be engraved in the memory.

Italian-Bulgarian cellist, composer and artist active in the contemporary music scene. With a solid classical training, she develops a research that combines music, performing arts and electronics, exploring new forms of expression between sound, space and movement. She collaborates with international artists and productions creating immersive projects that integrate composition, light and performance.

Adam Hall, para alpine skier

Tyler McGregor, Canadian para ice hockey player

Once the competitive exertions are over, the athletes of the 55 participating delegations can dance and celebrate.

Milan's mascots Cortia, Milo and Tina, dance to the notes of electronic music played by Gabriele Capponi, an Italian DJ, techno music and activist. After an accident that left him quadriplegic, he turned music into a tool for expression and awareness-raising, bringing his sound and cultural vision to major European clubs. He is the founder of Frega Project, an association that promotes clubbing that is accessible to all.

It is two-time Sanremo Festival winner Arisa who sings Mameli's anthem.

The tricolour makes its entrance onto the stage, carried - among others - by Paralympic athletes Martina Caironi, Simone Barlaam and Melania Corradini.

Luminous ropes create the Italian flag. Conquering the summit, as well as reaching the podium, is a moment of celebration, of lights and colours that culminates with the lighting of the Italian flag. It is as if the entire stadium unleashes a common energy, an identity force that lights up and proudly declares: we are Italia!

The first act of this show opens with Dergin Tokmak, a solo performer from the Cirque du Soleil, who narrates Paralympic values with the energy and spirit of an athlete who teaches the new generation not only how to win but how to become a team. His performance transforms fragility into stage language, difference into beauty, truth into narrative. He is the symbol of humanity that falls, resists and rises, transforming limits into successes and vulnerability into strength that becomes light.Two generations meet: little Sofia, who represents every child's dream, renews the strength of the athlete, transforming experience into momentum towards the future. A silent energy flows between the two protagonists. In a moment in which time is suspended, the little girl gives the athlete the promise of her tomorrow and he shows her the way, bequeathing all the experience he has gained.

The prologue video of the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Winter Games tells the dream of a little girl. A simple and powerful dream that becomes a universal metaphor: the dream of all young people in the world who see in sport not just a competition, but a chance for fulfilment, redemption, self-affirmation. Like a snowflake that is born light and imperfect, every athlete may appear fragile in the eyes of the world. But that flake, blown by the wind, passes through storms, resists the cold, does not break. It falls, gets up, continues its journey. And when it hits the ground, it does not melt: it transforms. Sport is the place where limits are transformed into momentum, fragility becomes strength and dreams learn to fly.

Italian Souvenir is the title of the ceremony, the brainchild of Angelo Bonello and Francesco Paolo Conticello of Casta Diva Art & Show, which celebrates the already legendary Olympic and Paralympic adventure experienced in Italia. It is the moment when every challenge, every fall, every victory and every defeat are transformed into a shared memory. After the fatigue, the commitment and the competition, the time comes to recognise each other as part of the same story: athletes and athletes, volunteers, public, staff. A single community, united, cohesive, because no goal can be conquered alone. At the centre is the human being, even before the athlete. His journey, his ascent, his ability to transform the limit into a goal.

"The Paralympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina 2026 come to a close. Thank you to all our athletes of the Paralympic National Team for the emotions and extraordinary results you have given to Italia. With your talent, your determination and your example, you have made the whole nation proud. Thank you for having carried the Tricolour aloft'. This was written on X by the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

Giorgia Meloni will not be able to attend the closing ceremony of the Paralympics in Milan-Cortina. The Prime Minister had left from Rome but returned to the capital instead of landing at Istrana military airport in the province of Treviso where she was expected. Due to adverse weather conditions it would not have been possible to make the second part of the helicopter journey to Cortina safely.

It is a record winter Paralympics for ice hockey at the Santa Giulia Arena. The Milan Cortina 2026 final was sold out, won 6-2 by the United States over Canada and a new historical record set for this discipline in a Paralympic Games. A total of 11,500 tickets were sold (10,795 were present according to the speaker), a few thousand more than the 9000 or so sold last Saturday for USA-Italy, which had already set a record. There were many American and Canadian fans in the stands, but also many Italians who sympathised with Canada who came out beaten by the heavily favoured USA. Bronze medal for China who beat the Czech Republic in the final for third place. A celebration in the stands with some exceptional fans like Bebe Vio who, framed on the big screen, received the greeting and applause of the entire Arena. "The new record number of spectators for the Para Ice Hockey final is a very strong signal of the enthusiasm and attention that surrounds these Paralympics," said Andrea Varnier, CEO of Milano Cortina 2026. "Seeing the Arena full for a Paralympic final shows that the public's interest stems from the strength and quality of this discipline and its ability to convey enthusiasm. A legacy, this, that goes beyond the numbers and marks the beginning of an indelible change in sports culture'.

Further reading

Paralympics, Verona starts with the right feet, prostheses and wheels

07 March 2026