What is ‘Olympic Truce’?

• The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution calling on all Member States to observe the ‘Olympic Truce’ during the XIV Paralympic Winter Games in Italy in 2026.

• The truce begins seven days before the Games open and ends seven days after they conclude. 

• The 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina and Milan run from February 4 to 26, followed by the Paralympics from March 6 to 15.

• International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry and Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee President and IOC Member Giovanni Malagò welcomed the adoption, by consensus, in their addresses during the General Assembly.

• Italy has committed to ensuring that the Games advance inclusion and accessibility both on and off the ice, supported by hundreds of planned legacy projects.

• Milano-Cortina 2026 is set to be the most gender-balanced Winter Games yet, with women expected to make up 47 per cent of the athletes. 

What is the ‘Olympic Truce’?

• The tradition of the “Olympic Truce”, or “ekecheiria”, was established in Greece in the ninth century BC through the signing of a treaty between three kings — Iphitos of Elis, Cleosthenes of Pisa and Lycurgus of Sparta.

• During this truce period, athletes, artists and their families, and ordinary pilgrims could travel safely to take part in or watch the Olympic Games and then return to their respective countries.

• In 1992, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) renewed this tradition by calling upon all nations to observe the Truce.

• Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its support for the Olympic Truce.

• The resolution has become a UN tradition as it is up for consideration every two years, in advance of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.

• The Olympic movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for humankind through the educational value of sport. 

• It brings together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events, the Olympic Games, and it aims to promote the maintenance of peace, mutual understanding and goodwill — goals it shares with the United Nations. 

• As an expression of these common objectives, in 1998 the International Olympic Committee decided to fly the United Nations flag at all competition sites of the Olympic Games.