Nine days from now, 665 athletes from around the world will walk into the Arena di Verona for the opening of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games. This morning, the flame that will open those Games was created at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Buckinghamshire, England. It is already on its way to Italy.

"Stoke Mandeville is sacred ground," said International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons, who was among the 200 guests at today's ceremony. "The Movement has grown beyond anything imagined."

The Story Behind the Starting Point

Dr. Ludwig Guttmann did not set out to build a global movement. He was a neurosurgeon at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, treating injured veterans of World War II. On July 28, 1948, while the London Olympics opening ceremony was happening nearby, he organized a competition for his patients: 16 injured veterans, competing in archery.

That was the whole event. And it was enough to start something that has not stopped.

The numbers tell the distance: 16 patients in 1948, 665 athletes competing in 79 events in 2026. Every four years, the flame starts here, at the beginning, before making the journey to wherever the Games are being held. It is the Movement's way of staying honest about where it came from.

Who Lit the Flame

The athletes chosen to light the 2026 Flame were Millie Knight and Andrea Macrì. Knight is a British Para alpine skier competing at her third Games, with four medals to her name. Macrì is a four-time Paralympian, vice-captain of Italy's Para ice hockey team, and competing on home soil at a Winter Paralympics for the first time in his career. Four Games to get here. The flame he lit this morning is traveling to his country.

Dame Sarah Storey, Great Britain's most decorated Paralympian with 17 gold medals and Channel 4's lead presenter for the 2026 Games, hosted the ceremony. WheelPower, the national charity for wheelchair sport, and official partner Allianz were represented among the invited guests.

The Road to Italy

From Stoke Mandeville, the flame flew to Italy on an ITA Airways flight, beginning a relay that will cover approximately 2,000 kilometres before reaching the opening ceremony.

Five hundred and one torchbearers will carry it across Italy. Public Flame Festival events are open to anyone along the route: Turin today, with a special ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Torino 2006 Games; Milan tomorrow (February 25); Bolzano on February 27; Trento on February 28; Trieste on March 2. The relay continues through Rome, Bari, Naples, and Bologna before five separate flames converge at Cortina d'Ampezzo on March 3 and travel together to the Arena di Verona.

Every stop on that route is a free, public event. Tomorrow in Milan is the nearest one.

What to Expect from March 6

The opening ceremony at the Arena di Verona is titled "Life in Motion." Six hundred and sixty-five athletes will compete in 79 medal events across six sports: Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard, and wheelchair curling. The closing ceremony, "Italian Souvenir," is on March 15 at the Cortina Olympic Ice Stadium.

NBC and Peacock are carrying more than 270 hours of coverage in the United States, including the opening ceremony live on March 6. Channel 4 covers the Games in the UK. The full schedule is already posted on the official Paralympics website if you want to plan your viewing.

Nine days from now, something that started with 16 veterans and an archery competition will fill the Arena di Verona. The flame is already on its way.