On Sunday 15 March 2026 the spotlight for the Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 fell on the Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio – the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium – in Cortina d’Ampezzo as the Closing Ceremony for the best Winter Paralympic Games yet took place.

The Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium has been the stage for the precision and strategy of the world’s top curling athletes through both the Olympics and the Paralympics, and it also hosted the highly anticipated Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Winter Games.

This edition of the Paralympic Winter Games has been one of the best viewed ever, according to John Lisko, managing director at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and global media rights senior executive leader for every Paralympic Games.

SVG Europe caught up with Lisko the day after the Closing Ceremony to find out more about the coverage, and what is next for the Paralympic movement.

Heather McLean: So how has this Paralympics Games gone?

John Lisko: The Games have been fantastic. Absolutely. The energy, the enthusiasm! The vibe here [in Cortina] is just spectacular. And it’s been recordbreaking on so many levels from a broadcasting standpoint and from a digital standpoint. We’ve broken multiple records, and we’ve got 611 athletes from 55 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) and 26 of those NPCs have won medals.

HM: What have been the challenges of this Winter Paralympic Games for you?

JL: We have less venues [than the Olympics], but we still have the geography that needs to be considered because we still have Milan, Cortina, and Val di Fiemme. There’s three villages and [so we have] that feeling of pulling everything together. But I think the energy that we feel here in Cortina is contagious. The spirit of the Paralympic movement has helped to overcome any distance barriers that might have been created.

HM: What would you say are the big successes of this Paralympic Games? Are there some standout things for you?

JL: Well, I think I think when you consider the coverage, it’s absolutely phenomenal. Every one of our rights holders and the broadcasters are reporting significant increases in viewers. We’ve had significant increases from Beijing, and NBC reported the most viewed Winter Paralympic Games since Salt Lake City 2002.

The other thing that is really amazing is the digital video views and the streams. From 4 March to the 12 March, the Paralympic YouTube channel generated more than 275 million video views, which surpassed all of [those that we had in] 2024 in Paris. So think about that; in that slice of days, we had more video views on our YouTube channel than in the entirety of 2024 for the Paris Summer Games.

HM: We always talk about how the Paralympic Games is evolving. How has this Paralympic Games grown on the shoulders of previous Games through its broadcast?

JL: We have 20 media rightsholders and more than 126 countries are covered through those rightsholders. And then we’re filling in the rest of the world with our own channels, paralympic.org and the YouTube channel.

But what’s happening is we’re seeing more coverage. We’re also seeing a commitment from the broadcasters to have more presenters that are either Paralympians or people with disability; they’re bringing them front and centre in front of the camera, which is absolutely fantastic.

We’re also seeing broadcasters employ new technologies that help with accessibility to make sure that the coverage is available to everybody. So whether it’s something basically for everybody, or if it’s helping with readers or listening devices, it’s gone beyond just providing the coverage; it’s more coverage, more platforms, the talent, the presenters, the technologies, are all parts of this.

HM: With the broadcasters, are there any that are standing out for you in their approach to and coverage of this Games?

JL: Channel 4 continues to beat their own benchmarks Games after Games after Games, and find new and interesting and different ways to cover the Paralympics. What I love about the way Channel 4 does things is they’re embracing the media world around them, so they’re not shutting it out to trying to be protective and saying, “these are our platforms, don’t worry about it”. They’re finding ways to use the platforms that they might not own, but we know our viewers are there. They’re saying, “let’s pull them in”. So that’s awesome.

We have a relationship with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). They’re a rights holder. The EBU members have been broadcasting the Paralympic games for many years. And in addition to the free to air coverage with EBU and its members, we added two key components that have just really exploded the coverage across Europe.

One is EurovisionSport.com, which is the EBU’s platform for sport. It’s a new streaming platform, but that is covering the whole of Europe. So if you’re in Germany and ARD and ZDF is providing the coverage, anything they don’t cover, you can watch on Eurovision Sport, but if you live in Cypress or Greece where they might not be covering it [on TV at all], you could still watch the Games on Eurovision Sport. So that’s awesome.

We were also able to bring to the coverage equation Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD). The daily highlights [of the Paralympics Winter Games] are included on the WBD platform, so that’s TNT Sport, Eurosport or HBO Max depending on the market.

And our dear friends at Channel 4, as well as Rai in Italy, both agreed to allow the daily highlights to run again so we could just expand the coverage, which I love about the mindset of the broadcasters. They care about their business, but they’re helping us grow the movement and the coverage, and that’s the true spirit of partnership when people are thinking that way.

So those are truly remarkable opportunities. And I will also give a terrific shout out to Nine Australia. On the other side of the world where it’s summer right now, and winter sport is not a priority, they continue to kill it. They’re committed to the movement and everything about it. Their coverage has been fantastic. The reporters are here on the slopes and it just couldn’t be better, and they’re using their streaming platforms and social platforms.

HM: And is there anywhere that your rights holding broadcasters could do better? If you could say for next time, what would you really like to see them do?

JL: Well, I’m always going to ask for more coverage. Our perfect world would be a hundred percent free to air coverage plus the streaming platforms, and that’s something we can all work towards.

I would also say in addition to the coverage, the engagements and the viewership we’re seeing is a testament to the value of the rights, and we continue to expect growth in the rights revenue, and that only helps us get more coverage, which is a great thing.

HM: How do you see future winter Paralympic Games going forwards? We’ve spoken about what you would like from your broadcasters, but just for the movement?

JL: Yes, i’s two things; it’s a Games and a movement. I think that the engagement on television viewing, more views online means when you start to look at this in aggregate, I think it’s sending a message. People care. People want to watch it. There’s a level of demand in the marketplace for this content. People care about the Winter Paralympic Games.

So I think when we look at the future, we only look at how could this be bigger and more impactful, and how we could do more, how we can get more support from the broadcasters. The organising committee’s been great, and we’ll continue to see that as we move to French Alps next, and then Utah after that. I think the opportunities are phenomenal.

What about the Closing Ceremony? What was the goal for that, your big finale?

We have worked with the organising committee to give an intimate send-off to the Games. By hosting the event in the Cortina Curling Centre we are also paying to tribute to a legacy of the 1956 Games. The ‘Souvenir to the world’ was a party for the athletes and broadcasters to enjoy.

The Summer Paralympic Games will be back with LA28, followed by the 2030 Winter Paralympic Games in the French Alps