14 March 2022
Another step towards the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games
The flight that brought the Paralympic flag to Italy landed at the Milan Malpensa airport today, along with the Milano Cortina 2026 delegation that attended the Beijing 2022 Games.
The banner represents the Paralympic emblem with the three blue, red, and green agitos symbolising the key aspects of humankind (mind, body and spirit). Its arrival marks another step toward the next Italian Winter Games that will begin in four years, following the arrival of the Olympic flag on February 21.
The Paralympic flag, from Beijing to Milan
Representatives from the two future host cities, Deputy Mayor of Milan Anna Scavuzzo and Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo Gianpietro Ghedina, were on the flight. During the closing ceremony on March 13, received the Paralympic flag from the Mayor of Beijing, Chen Jinin. They were accompanied by the delegation of Italian Paralympic athletes, led by President of the Italian Paralympic Committee Luca Pancalli and the general director Vincenzo Novari, representing the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation. Upon arrival, the undersecretary of state for sports, Valentina Vezzali, the president of CONI and the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, Giovanni Malagò, and the Lombardy region's undersecretary for sports, Antonio Rossi, were present to welcome the Paralympic flag.
On course to Milano Cortina 2026
"We're happy to bring this flag back to Italy after 20 years. We're even happier to be doing so with the entire Italian Paralympic team, which was successful at the Beijing Games. This flag holds the dreams and ideals we will strive to realise, along with our friends from the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, taking on the challenge of holding the best Games of all time. Our goal continues to be to aim to bring new impetus to the growth of the Italian and international Paralympic family and to change the country's culture and the perception of disability through sports. This is our commitment to the future, made possible by a path that starts today, with this ceremony, and which I am sure will take us far," said Luca Pancalli, president of the Italian Paralympic Committee.
It's our turn
President Giovanni Malagò welcomed the Italian delegation saying, "The Paralympic flag's arrival finalises the process of inaugurating Milano Cortina 2026 as the organising committee for the next Winter Games. But now more than ever, this symbol, together with the Olympic banner, represents the message that the world of sports sends to the planet so that the values of respect, integration, and loyalty continue to prevail in the darkest moments of our history."
