Overview
- Ukraine, Finland, Czechia, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands have confirmed they will skip the March 6 ceremony, with officials from Estonia and Lithuania also saying they will not attend.
- European Commission sports commissioner Glenn Micallef said he will boycott the event in protest at the reinstatement of Russian and Belarusian national symbols.
- Canada and Britain will not attend because athletes compete the next day far from Verona; Canada reiterated its opposition to the IPC vote and will feature flag‑bearers Tyler McGregor and Natalie Wilkie in filmed segments from athlete villages.
- The IPC allocated 10 combined athlete slots to Russia and Belarus — six to Russia (two each in para alpine, para snowboard and para nordic) and four to Belarus in para nordic — following a pathway shaped by a December CAS ruling that compelled FIS to facilitate entries.
- Russia’s delegation plans to march in Verona with cross‑country skiers under its flag, while the IPC says the Games will proceed March 6–15 with more than 600 athletes expected from over 50 countries.