Paralympics

Russian and Belarusian para-athletes will not be at the 2026 Winter Paralympics, despite the International Paralympic Committee lifting its ban on them.

Although the IPC oversees the Games, there are four separate governing bodies in charge of the six sports taking place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Three of the governing bodies have decided to keep their bans on athletes from the two countries, and although Russia and Belarus are now allowed to compete in ice hockey, the decision came too late for them to take part in qualifying.

Both countries were suspended from Paralympic competition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia.

A partial ban – allowing athletes to compete as neutrals – was introduced in 2023.

IPC members then voted to lift the suspensions on the two countries at a meeting last month, allowing para-athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete under their own flags.

However, the four international federations have now told the IPC “that, in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March’s Games”.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), International Biathlon Union (IBU) and World Curling have not lifted their bans, while World Para Ice Hockey has already decided which countries will enter the qualifying tournament for the two remaining places at the Games.

“In the same way that the IPC fully respects the decision of the IPC General Assembly not to maintain the partial suspensions of NPC Belarus and NPC Russia, we also fully respect the decisions of each international federation regarding the sports they govern,” said IPC president Andrew Parsons.

“The positions of FIS, IBU and World Curling currently mean that athletes and teams from Belarus and Russia cannot compete in their events, making it impossible for them to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

“While Belarus and Russia can now compete in Para ice hockey competitions, at this late stage of the qualification cycle, the six teams for November’s Paralympic Games qualification tournament have already been determined.

“I hope the focus will now be very much on the outstanding athletes and NPCs that will compete at Milano Cortina 2026 next March, as well as the tremendous transformational legacies the Paralympic Winter Games will create.”

After Paris sold a record 12 million tickets for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, the group organizing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles is getting a head start on ticket sales.

General registration for 2028 Olympic tickets will open in January 2026, more than a full year ahead of the ticket timeline used during the Paris Games, LA28 announced on Wednesday. Tickets to the Paralympics — coming to L.A. for the first time — will go on sale in 2027.

Beginning next year, fans can register to enter the lottery for Olympic tickets at the organizing committee’s website la28.org. If selected in the random draw, fans will receive a purchase time and date for when ticket drops begin in spring 2026. Fans who are not selected for the first round of ticket drops will be automatically be entered into subsequent ones. LA28 officials plan to announce more information about the process later this year.

Single-event tickets will start at $28, with early access for locals around Olympic venue cities. In addition to major sports zones in Downtown L.A., Exposition Park, the Sepulveda Basin, Long Beach, Inglewood and Carson will host multiple Olympic events. L.A., Long Beach and Carson will host the majority of the Paralympic events.

“The LA28 Games will be an opportunity to purchase a ticket to history,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “Whether you’re a local family attending your first Olympic or Paralympic event or a global traveler joining us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, there really will be something for everyone across our suite of ticket options and hospitality packages.”

AXS and Eventim, which expanded their partnership with LA28, is the official ticket provider for the 2028 L.A. Olympics and Paralympics. Hospitality packages offered by On Location will be available on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in early 2026. The ticket-inclusive options include guaranteed accommodations, official LA28 transportation options and premium seating.

The Olympics begin on July 14, 2028, with a dual-venue opening ceremony at the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. They close on July 30 at the Coliseum, while the Paralympics come to L.A. for the first time from Aug. 15-27.

The Paris organizing committee, which sold 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics and 2.5 million for Paralympics, didn’t begin its ticket registration process until November 2022, with the first, bundled ticket sales beginning in February 2023. The total number of tickets sold broke the previous record held by the London Olympics, which still holds the Paralympic record with 2.7 million tickets sold.

The 2028 Games will be the largest in modern Olympic history. L.A. will host the Paralympics for the first time. The proper stage for the more than 15,000 athletes competing in 2028 requires more than just Hollywood’s most iconic landmarks.

From the Pacific Ocean to the San Gabriel Mountains to the great plains in Oklahoma, the L.A. Olympics will use more than 30 venues to host 36 sports and 52 disciplines in the largest Games program in modern Olympic history. While the Olympic footprint sprawls across multiple states, the Paralympics will take place in a compact 35-mile radius encompassing L.A., Carson, Long Beach and Arcadia.

Olympic venues for mountain biking, race walking and soccer preliminaries have yet to be announced, along with sites for para weightlifting, para cycling road and the course and finish line of the para marathon. Soccer group-stage games will be played in stadiums across the country before the tournament returns to the Rose Bowl for the medal games.

As the final plan takes shape, here’s a look at where the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held in 2028.