The 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games have officially opened in Lahti, Finland, bringing together athletes from 22 nations across five continents for the first-ever Para sport Games dedicated exclusively to sports outside the Paralympic Games programme.

The Opening Ceremony marked the beginning of a landmark week for World Abilitysport and the wider Paralympic Movement, celebrating the diversity of Para sport and the opportunities available to athletes competing in emerging and developing disciplines.

Welcoming athletes, teams, officials and guests to the Games, World Abilitysport President Rudi Van den Abbeele reflected on the significance of an event carrying the name of Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of World Abilitysport and father of the Paralympic Movement.

“These Games are about competition, of course. They are about athletes testing themselves, achieving their goals and sharing the field of play with competitors from around the world.

But these Games also represent something bigger.

They carry the name of Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the founder of World Abilitysport and a man whose vision changed the lives of people with disabilities and helped shape the Paralympic Movement we know today.

Sir Ludwig Guttmann believed that disability should never be a barrier to opportunity. He believed in what people could achieve, rather than what others believed they could not. That belief remains at the heart of World Abilitysport today and the Games we open tonight are, in many ways, a continuation of that legacy.”

On behalf of the Local Organising Committee, Laura Kittela welcomed the participating teams to Lahti, expressing the committee’s pride in hosting the inaugural edition of an event she described as significant for the future of the Paralympic Movement.

Representing the athletes, Hong Kong, China’s Para dancer, Matthew Yu Chun Yin, Team Chile’s, Macarena Cepeda represented the coaches and Disability Snooker, Tournament Director, Stuart Barker represented the officials in the Games oaths.

A local Finnish music band then kicked off celebrations in style filling the dancefloor with teams ready to celebrate the start of the Games!

With the Opening Ceremony now complete, attention turns to competition, with athletes already taking to the field of play across the Games programme.

Competition continues in Disability Snooker and Standing Tennis, while the first day of competition in Para Laser Run gets underway. Inclusive Ice Skating and Para Dance Sport will join the programme from Wednesday.

Over the coming days, athletes from across the world will compete, connect and experience sports that are helping to broaden the opportunities available within international Para sport.

The 2026 World Abilitysport Guttmann Games represent a new chapter for World Abilitysport – one that celebrates competition beyond the Paralympic programme while carrying forward Sir Ludwig Guttmann’s enduring belief in the power of sport to create opportunity, challenge expectations and change lives.