Overview
- Germany said its athletes will skip the Parade of Nations in Verona to show solidarity with Ukraine, joining a growing list of teams refusing to attend the ceremony.
- The IPC barred a Ukrainian ceremonial kit featuring a national map as a political design under Games rules, and approved an alternative uniform Ukraine provided within 24 hours.
- The IPC has invited six Russian and four Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags and anthems, prompting boycotts and altered participation plans.
- The IPC confirmed at least eight nations — including Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands — will not attend the opening ceremony.
- Poland’s public broadcaster TVP will interrupt its opening ceremony coverage when Russian and Belarusian teams enter, and the IPC warned that Middle East airspace closures could disrupt some arrivals.