European broadcasters have refused to broadcast the opening of the 2026 Paralympics in support of Ukraine

Public broadcasters in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland and Poland refused to broadcast the opening ceremony of the XIV Winter Paralympic Games 2026 in Italy as a sign of support for Ukraine. The reason for this decision was the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the competition under their national flags.

In particular, the Polish public television channel TVP3 displayed the following message during the broadcast:

"Solidarity with Ukraine. Polish television opposes the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in sports competitions."

On 24 February, Finnish broadcaster Yle announced that it would not broadcast the Paralympics opening ceremony. YLE Sports Director Jooose Palonen explained that the channel focuses on covering events from the perspective of the Finnish audience.

"Since the Finnish team will not be participating in the opening ceremony, we will not miss a single important moment for Finnish athletes," he said.

On 2 March, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT also announced that it would not broadcast the opening of the Paralympics.

"We cannot support the International Paralympic Committee's decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags and are joining the initiative of Baltic broadcasters not to broadcast the opening ceremony," said LRT Deputy Director Gytis Oganauskas.

On 3 March, Estonian public broadcaster ERR made a similar decision, announcing that it would not show either the opening or closing ceremonies of the Games on its channels.

ERR sports director Rivo Saarna explained this decision with the broadcaster's position on Russia's war against Ukraine.

"Russia and Belarus are countries that are committing war crimes, and we cannot normalise the integration of aggressor countries in any form while a full-scale war is ongoing in Ukraine," he stressed.

For the same reason, Latvian broadcaster LSM also decided not to broadcast the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2026 Paralympics.

In Ukraine, Suspilne Sport also did not show the opening ceremony, which took place on 6 March. Instead, broadcasts of all competitions involving Ukrainian para-athletes are available on Suspilne platforms and regional television channels.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of 16 countries boycotted the opening ceremony. France and Australia were among the latest to join the boycott.

According to France 24, during the ceremony, the Russian athletes' entrance into the arena was accompanied by boos from the stands.