# Lithuanian Broadcaster Boycotts Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony Over Russian and Belarusian Flags

*Event date: March 2, 2026*

By IO Digest Desk

Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT said on March 2, 2026 that it would not broadcast the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, citing opposition to the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags. The move turned a programming decision into a political statement about the boundaries of sporting neutrality during an ongoing war.

LRT said it was acting in solidarity with public broadcasters in Latvia, Estonia and Finland. In a statement reported by LRT’s English-language service, deputy director Gytis Oganauskas said the broadcaster could not support the IPC decision and would therefore join the Baltic initiative not to air the ceremony. That choice focused not on the sporting events themselves, but on the symbolic opening moment when delegations are publicly presented to viewers around the world.

The background to the boycott reaches back several Paralympic cycles. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were banned from the 2022 Paralympics. They were later allowed to compete as neutral athletes at the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympics. The IPC then decided in late February 2026 that six Russian and four Belarusian athletes would be permitted to take part in the Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics under their national flags rather than as neutrals.

That shift in status is what prompted LRT’s reaction. For critics of the decision, national flags are not a procedural detail but a form of public recognition with political meaning. A live opening ceremony magnifies that symbolism because it gives formal visibility to participating states, not just individual athletes. Refusing to air the ceremony therefore allowed the broadcaster to register objection without boycotting all competition coverage.

The decision also shows how the dispute over Russian and Belarusian participation has spread beyond sports authorities and governments into public media institutions. Broadcasters rarely shape geopolitical policy, but they do decide which public rituals to amplify. In this case, LRT chose not to provide its audience with a live national showcase it regarded as unacceptable under the circumstances.

The boycott has a regional dimension as well. By linking its position to broadcasters in Latvia, Estonia and Finland, LRT framed the action as a coordinated northern and Baltic response rather than a purely domestic editorial call. That matters because collective action increases the political signal and makes the decision harder to dismiss as an isolated protest.

The Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics were due to open on Friday, March 6, giving the announcement immediate relevance in the final days before the Games. LRT’s position ensured that debate over participation rules would remain visible even before competition began.

On March 2, the immediate effect was limited to one broadcaster’s schedule. The broader significance was clearer: the controversy surrounding Russian and Belarusian representation had become serious enough that at least one national public broadcaster decided the opening ceremony itself should not be shown. In practice, that meant the broadcaster treated the ceremony as a political event as much as a sporting one.