Netherlands Cancels Hosting of Euro Paralympic Event After Russians Cleared to Compete Under National Flags

The Netherlands has decided to cancel its hosting of the 2026 European Paralympic Swimming Championships due to the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes under their own flags, ad.nl reported on February 25.

The Dutch Swimming Federation (KNZB) made this decision after consultations with government ministries, including the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, which confirmed the withdrawal.

Arnoud Strijbis, the director of the KNZB, explained that the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) insisted that Russian and Belarusian athletes be allowed to compete under their national flags. “We cannot comply with what they wanted to write in the contract,” Strijbis stated, highlighting that the Netherlands would only have allowed athletes from these countries to compete under a neutral flag and without their anthem.

The pushback against Russian and Belarusian participation stems from extensive documentation linking many of their elite athletes directly to the military and state propaganda. According to recent investigations by rights groups and international media, numerous athletes cleared by sporting bodies to compete as “neutrals” have direct ties to Russian military organizations—such as the Central Sports Club of the Army (CSKA)—or have publicly supported Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Paralympic Committee has even previously confirmed that approximately 500 veterans of the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine are now integrated into Russia’s national and regional Paralympic teams.

For Ukrainian competitors and allied nations like the Netherlands, allowing athletes who hold Russian military ranks or endorse the war to participate normalizes the ongoing aggression and undermines the concept of sporting neutrality.

The decision has left the future of the European Paraswimming Championship uncertain, with possible consequences for athletes hoping to qualify for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, as the European Championships were part of the qualification process, according to ad.nl.

The IPC’s stance on the issue, aiming to promote a “message of inclusion,” has sparked controversy and boycotts. This decision led to a number of boycotts of the opening ceremony. In addition to Ukrainian athletes, the Austrians will also not be present. Dutch officials and part of the Polish team likewise declined to participate in the opening.

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IPC president Andrew Parsons has stated that the decision to allow these athletes to compete under their flags cannot be reversed, emphasizing the IPC’s commitment to inclusivity.

Earlier, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR has announced that it will not broadcast competitions from the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete under their national flags, the outlet said on its website.

“Estonian Public Broadcasting unequivocally condemns the normalization of the actions of aggressor states through sport and the Olympic movement and denounces the decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games under the flags of aggressor states,” said ERR’s head of sports editorial department, Rivo Saarna.

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