Every two years, the Olympic and Paralympic Games unite people around their love for sport – athletes, coaches, referees, volunteers, physical spectators, but also millions of people cheering them on from all over the world.

The Games are a unique platform to uphold sport based on key values – integrity, fair play, equality, inclusion, and more. As stated in the European Sports Charter, “Practising values-based sport can empower people and teach fairness, teamwork, equality, discipline, inclusion, respect and integrity.” (Article 7)

The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games started on 6 February and will run until 15 March. The Council of Europe’s Sport Division takes this opportunity to congratulate the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the Italian authorities, and the Italian Olympic and Paralympic Committees on the organisation of these Games.

The Sport Division’s actions related to the Milano Cortina 2026 Games include:

• A panel on “Human Rights-based approaches to LGBTI inclusion in Sport”, organised by Milano Pride in collaboration with the Council of Europe, took place on 21 February at Pride House in Milan, Italy. It brought together athletes, policymakers and civil society representatives, highlighting the importance of co-operation between institutions, sports organisations and civil society to integrate human rights principles into sports systems and events, making them more inclusive. Francine Hetherington Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS), represented the Council of Europe on this occasion.
   
• During a session on good governance aimed at representatives of National Olympic Committees (NOCs), the IOC presented the work conducted in the framework of the International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS), focusing on the new Sport Governance Handbook and the Sport Governance Benchmark dimensions (more information) to promote governance reform processes in line with the benchmark. The Council of Europe is a founding partner of IPACS, and EPAS played an active role in the development of these tools.
   
• The Advisory Group of the Macolin Convention’s Follow-up Committee, the Group of Copenhagen (GoC), analysed the monitoring of the sports betting market and the progress of competitions to detect possible manipulations. Led by Lionel Bordes, a working group monitored three sports through three national platforms: ice hockey through the Swiss platform, biathlon through the German platform, and curling through the Canadian platform. The GoC monitoring group exchanged risk assessments as well as any relevant information, and met at least once a week for the duration of the Olympic Games. Any findings may be shared within the Olympic Monitoring Integrity Group established by the Olympic Movement, which counts among its members the Council of Europe as well as INTERPOL, the Italian authorities, certain betting regulators and integrity organisations.
   
• The Committee of the Saint-Denis Convention, which deals with safety, security and service at major sports events, will carry out a first debrief on the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games at its 9th plenary meeting in Strasbourg on 28-29 April, as was done after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in the autumn of 2024.
   
• The “Sport For All” joint European Union – Council of Europe project aims to promote inclusion and combat discrimination against persons with disabilities. The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity to gather yet more valuable insights and integrate innovative best practices into the project. In October 2025, the project held its first webinar on “training and development of Para sport coaches, referees and managers”. On 24 March 2026, a second webinar organised in the framework of the joint project will focus on visibility and media representation of athletes with disabilities.