Being the most prepared fan for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games

Client:
International Paralympic Committee, Allianz, Milano Cortina 2026

Year:
2026

Services:
Creative Strategy, Art Direction, Illustration, Motion Design, Animation, Storytelling

Impact area:
Sports Entertainment / Community / Common Good / Education / Athletics

Challenge

Making Paralympic winter sports clear, compelling, and accessible to new fans worldwide.

After the strong reception of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Sport Explainers, we were invited by Allianz, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games to complete the collection.

This time, the mission was to break down all six Paralympic winter sports, along with their rules and classification systems, into a series of 90-second illustrated and animated films. The challenge was not only to inform, but to spark curiosity and build excitement worldwide, helping audiences tune in to the Paralympic Games fully prepared for what they were about to experience.

01
Spark curiosity into new audiences

02
Break down complex rules

03
Build excitement in existing audiences

02_Thumb Full [ParaCrossCountrySkiing].gif

Leveraging color to anchor identity and build excitement.

For events on this scale, creating distinct visual environments for each venue is essential. It allows audiences at home to instantly recognize when the broadcast shifts from one location to another.

As a core design principle, each explainer was built around the official color palette of its respective venue, accompanied by icy blue tones that set the wintery vibe.

In key moments of the animation, the highlight colors of each palette would take over the entire screen, amplifying the intensity and emotional charge of the action. We called these moments “color flips”: bold, immersive bursts of energy that mirror the athletes giving everything they have.

Copyright Milano Cortina (above)

The Freeze Frame system.

The series sits within the same visual family as the Olympic Winter Sport Explainers, creating a cohesive universe across both bodies of work.

Drawing inspiration from rotoscopy and traditional animation techniques, we developed what we called “freeze frames”: high-impact moments of rotation, spins, and flips translated into sequences of carefully composed still images.

These suspended instants served a dual purpose. Conceptually, they echoed the frozen landscapes and icy essence of the sports themselves. Technically, they offered an elegant solution to sequences that would typically require complex cel animation, transforming a production constraint into a distinctive visual language.

Outcome

Breaking the ice between athletes and new audiences, turning curiosity into connection and visibility into lasting impact.

In addition to being featured across venues, the videos were distributed globally through select streaming platforms and social media channels.

The Paris 2024 Sport Explainers alone have surpassed three million views on the @Paralympics YouTube channel since their release, demonstrating strong audience appetite for accessible, well-crafted educational content around Paralympic sport.

Building on this momentum, the Milano Cortina series is positioned to further amplify visibility and engagement, reinforcing the role of design-driven storytelling in bringing new audiences closer to the Paralympic Games.

Watch all 6 winter para sports