Where is the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in north Italy will host this year’s Winter Olympics – the third time the country has held the Games.
Italy last hosted the Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006 and Cortina d’Ampezzo was the home of the 1956 Games.
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When is the 2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics takes place from Friday, February 6 to Sunday, February 22.
However, the first action begins on Wednesday, February 4 with the mixed doubles curling competition, which will have GB representation, with ice hockey and snowboarding’s big air event also getting under way on Thursday, February 5.
When and where is the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is on Friday, February 6 at the San Siro Stadium – home of AC Milan and Inter Milan. American singer Mariah Carey will be one of the headline acts.
The closing ceremony is on Sunday, February 22 at the iconic Verona Arena.
List of sports and venues at 2026 Winter Olympics
- Alpine skiing – Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre and Stelvio Ski Centre
- Biathlon – Anterselva Biathlon Arena
- Bobsleigh – Cortina Sliding Centre
- Cross-country skiing – Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium
- Curling – Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium
- Figure skating – Milano Ice Skating Arena
- Freestyle skiing – Livigno Snow Park and Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park
- Ice hockey – Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena
- Luge – Cortina Sliding Centre
- Nordic combined – Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium and Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium
- Short-track speed skating – Milano Ice Skating Arena
- Skeleton – Cortina Sliding Centre
- Ski jumping – Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium
- Ski mountaineering – Stelvio Ski Centre
- Snowboarding – Livigno Snow Park
- Speed skating – Milano Speed Skating Stadium
Ski Mountaineering is the only new sport at this year’s Games and it’s one of the toughest physically as athletes need to run or ski up hills, then ski down hills repeatedly in short bursts.
Team GB medal hopes
Team GB’s most successful Winter Olympics came in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018 with five medals, including one gold.
There are big expectations for Milano Cortina with several British athletes enjoying success following the last Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022, in which they won only two medals – one gold for the women’s curling team.
Matt Weston is a genuine gold medal hope in the men’s skeleton as he’s won five of the seven World Cup races this season.
The two races he didn’t triumph at, were won by compatriot Marcus Wyatt, so it is possible we could see a double British podium on February 13 when the two-day competition concludes.
In the women’s skeleton, Tabitha Stoecker and Amelia Coltman have both featured on the World Cup podium this season, so have a chance to get in among the medals on February 14.
Great Britain will also have a strong medal opportunity in the skeleton mixed team event on February 15.
Britain’s most successful winter sport at the Olympics has been curling, with five medals from the last six Games.
Bruce Mouat captains the men’s side again this year and will aim to upgrade his silver to gold with the final on February 21. Eve Muirhead’s retirement means Sophie Jackson has the opportunity to replicate Muirhead’s success if she can lead her team to the final on February 22.
Mouat will also team up with Jennifer Dodds in the mixed doubles curling where the medals will be handed out on February 10.
In figure skating, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson head to Milano Cortina a year on from a World Championship bronze medal with the hope of an Olympic medal in the Ice Dance events on February 9 and February 11.
On the snow, snowboarder Mia Brookes is one of the favourites in the women’s big air (February 9) and slopestyle (February 17) events.
Brookes, 19, is the overall World Cup champion and became slopestyle world champion in 2023 at the age of 16.
In snowboard cross, Charlotte Bankes remains one of the top athletes and is a medal contender in the unpredictable event that takes place on February 13. Bankes will also team up with Huw Nightingale in the Team Event on February 15 – the pair are the current world champions.
Kirsty Muir is expected to be in medal contention for the freestyle skiing slopestyle (February 9) and big air (February 16) after breaking through in the last 12 months with maiden World Cup victories in both disciplines.
Zoe Atkin has become one of the top skiers in the women’s halfpipe with several World Cup podiums since the 2022 Beijing Olympics, including two wins this season. She is set to be in action on February 21 in the women’s halfpipe final.
Bobsledders Adele Nicoll and Kya Placide (women) plus Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence (men), slalom alpine skier Dave Ryding and cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave also have outside medal chances.
Team GB athlete list in full for Winter Olympics
Team GB have named a 53-strong squad for the Games, with Dave Ryding, 39, to compete in his fifth and final Olympics before retiring at the end of the season.
Slalom specialist Ryding, who became the first Briton to win an alpine skiing World Cup gold medal in 2022, has recorded top-20 finishes in the past three Olympics.
Alpine skiing: Billy Major (slalom), Dave Ryding (slalom), Laurie Taylor (slalom)
Bobsleigh: Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence (2-man), Brad Hall, Leon Greenwood, Taylor Lawrence and Greg Cackett,
Alternate: Alex Cartagena (4-man), Adele Nicoll (monobob), Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson, Alternate: Kya Placide (2-woman)
Biathlon: Jacques Jefferies and Shawna Pendry
Cross-Country Skiing: James Clugnet, Joe Davies, Andrew Musgrave, Anna Pryce
Park & Pipe: Zoe Atkin (freeski halfpipe), Gus Kenworthy (freeski halfpipe), Liam Richards (freeski halfpipe), Chris McCormick (freeski slopestyle and big air), Kirsty Muir (freeski slopestyle and big air), Mia Brookes (freestyle snowboard slopestyle and big air), Maisie Hill (freestyle snowboard slopestyle and big air), Txema Mazet-Brown (freestyle snowboard slopestyle and big air)
Skeleton: Matt Weston, Marcus Wyatt (men), Amelia Coltman, Freya Tarbit, Tabby Stoecker (women), mixed team line-up TBC
Snowboard cross: Charlotte Bankes (individual and team), Huw Nightingale (individual and team)
Ski cross: Ollie Davies
Moguls: Makayla Gerken Schofield, Mateo Jeannesson
World stars to watch at the Winter Olympics
American alpine skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin had a nightmare in Beijing 2022 after failing to win a medal when she had been favourite in at least two events. She will look for Olympic redemption in the giant slalom, slalom and team combined events.
China’s US-born superstar Eileen Gu will be a major rival to Britain’s Muir in the freestyle skiing slopestyle and big air, while snowboarder Chloe Kim is aiming for a hat-trick of halfpipe Olympics titles for the USA.
Two-time figure skating world champion, American Ilia Malinin, is the only skater to have landed the quad Axel in competition and will compete in his first Olympics.
In cross-country skiing, Johannes Hesflot Klaebo could win six gold medals at these Games which would be a record should the Norwegian pull off the remarkable feat.
Milano Cortina will see the return of NHL stars at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014, so expect plenty of action from ice hockey heavyweight countries USA and Canada.
Are Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete at the Winter Olympics?
Just like the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes” under the IOC banner but any medals won will not be present in the medal table.
Russian or Belarussian athletes cannot compete in team events, so we will only see some in individual competitions such as alpine skiing, cross-country skiing or figure skating.
Around 15 neutral athletes from the two countries are set to compete in Milano Cortina, having undergone a vetting procedure.
