Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Poland will join the boycott of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games due to the admission of representatives of Russia and Belarus to the competitions, according to official sources of local Paralympic committees.
The International Paralympic Committee has allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete at the 2026 Paralympics under their national symbols — for the first time in 12 years.
Ukraine announced a boycott of the opening ceremony in response to the IPC decision, having announced its intention to boycott the opening ceremony in full in February. The Czech Republic has since joined the initiative.
Since then, four more European countries have announced their intention to boycott the opening ceremony: the NPCs of Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland made corresponding statements.
The Latvian committee's statement noted that their delegation would boycott the event “in any format.”
“No representative of the Latvian delegation will participate in the opening ceremony – neither in person nor through video materials prepared in advance. We have appealed to the organizers of the Games so that the Latvian flag is not used at the opening ceremony,” added the president of the organization, Daiga Dadzite.
The Estonian committee added that official representatives of the organization will not attend the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as official receptions organized by the International Paralympic Committee.
“The Estonian Paralympic Committee supports Ukraine's official decision not to participate in the official ceremonies of the Games and considers it important to have a united and principled approach among European countries. Estonia's position is based on the understanding that sport should not be a means to normalize aggression.”