The 2026 Winter Olympic Games get underway in Italy on February 6.
Read on as we preview what promises to be a thrilling celebration of winter sports.
Winter Olympics 2026 Explained: When & Where the Games Take Place
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from February 6-22, 2026, at sites across Lombardy and north-east Italy.
They will be the first Olympic Games to be officially co-hosted by two cities. Milan will primarily host ice events, while the remaining events will be staged in clusters across the Cortina region.
Milan-Cortina 2026 Host Cities, Venues & Locations
The following cities and venues will host the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.
- Cortina d’Ampezzo – The Queen of the Dolomites
- Bormio – The Stelvio Beast
- Livigno – Freestyle & Snowboard Capital
- Val di Fiemme & Predazzo – Nordic Heartland
- Anterselva (Antholz) – Biathlon’s Cathedral
- Milan – Ice & Opening Ceremony
- Verona – Closing Ceremony
Full List of Sports & Events at the Winter Olympics 2026
The full list of sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics are as follows:
- Alpine skiing
- Cross-country skiing
- Ski jumping
- Nordic combined
- Biathlon
- Freestyle skiing
- Snowboarding
- Ski mountaineering
- Figure skating
- Speed skating
- Short track
- Ice hockey
- Curling
- Luge
- Bobsleigh
- Skeleton
Team GB at the Winter Olympics 2026: Athletes, Medal Contenders & Expectations
The following athletes will represent Great Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics:
Alpine Skiing
- Dave Ryding – men’s slalom
- Billy Major – men’s slalom
- Laurie Taylor – men’s slalom
Biathlon
- Jacques Jefferies – men’s
- Shawna Pendry – women’s
Bobsleigh
- Brad Hall, Taylor Lawrence, Greg Cackett and Leon Greenwood (Alex Cartagena – travelling reserve) – men’s squad
- Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson (Kya Placide – travelling reserve) – women’s squad
Cross-Country Skiing
- Andrew Musgrave – men’s events
- James Clugnet – men’s events
- Joe Davies – men’s events
- Anna Pryce – women’s events
Curling
- Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds – mixed team
- Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan Jr, Bobby Lammie and Kyle Waddell – men’s team
- Rebecca Morrison, Sophie Jackson, Sophie Sinclair, Jennifer Dodds and Fay Henderson – women’s team
Figure Skating
- Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson – team event/ice dance
- Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez – team event/ice dance
- Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby – team event/pairs
- Kristen Spours – team event/women’s singles
- Edward Appleby – team event
Freestyle Skiing
- Zoe Atkin – women’s halfpipe
- Ollie Davies – men’s ski cross
- Makalya Gerken Schofield – women’s moguls
- Mateo Jeannesson – men’s moguls
- Gus Kenworthy – men’s halfpipe
- Chris McCormick – men’s slopestyle and big air
- Kirsty Muir – women’s slopestyle and big air
- Liam Richards – men’s halfpipe
Short Track Speed Skating
- Niall Treacy – men’s 500m, 1,000m and 1,500m
Skeleton
- Amelia Coltman – women’s skeleton
- Tabitha Stoecker – women’s skeleton
- Freya Tarbit – women’s skeleton
- Matt Weston – men’s skeleton
- Marcus Wyatt – men’s skeleton
Snowboarding
- Charlotte Bankes – women’s snowboard cross and mixed team
- Mia Brookes – women’s slopestyle and big air
- Maisie Hill – women’s slopestyle and big air
- Txema Mazet-Brown – men’s slopestyle and big air
- Huw Nightingale – men’s snowboard cross and mixed team
Speed Skating
- Ellia Smeding – women’s 1,000m and 1,500m
The Team GB squad contains a plethora of medal prospects.
Jennifer Dodds will lead the women’s team in trying to defend their Olympic curling title from Beijing 2022, while Bruce Mouat will captain the men’s team.
Mouat is the reigning world champion with Scotland and is looking to upgrade his silver medal from the last Winter Olympics.
Zoe Atkin in women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe and Matt Weston in men’s skeleton are Britain’s other world champions competing in Italy.
Kirsty Muir, a silver medallist at the Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne 2020, is now eyeing medal success at senior level.
Key Storylines to Watch at the Winter Olympics 2026
Chloe Kim will attempt to win an unprecedented third-straight gold medal for the United States in the female halfpipe in Italy.
Women’s skiing legend Lyndsey Vonn has come out of retirement for one last crack at the Winter Olympics.
The 41-year-old has won two World Cup downhill events this year, and her previous record at Cortina is impressive.
National Hockey League (NHL) players will return to the Games after a 12-year hiatus, strengthening the US and Canadian squads.
The US will be eager to return to the top of the figure skating tree, having failed to claim a gold medal since Salt Lake City 2002.
Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito are eager to snap the drought.
New Events, Rule Changes & Format Updates for Milan-Cortina 2026
The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to feature 116 medal events in 16 disciplines, an increase of seven events and one discipline over Beijing 2022.
New medal events include men’s and women’s dual moguls in freestyle skiing and the return of the men’s and women’s doubles in luge to replace the open doubles event.
Other new additions to the line-up include men’s and women’s team alpine combined, women’s large hill individual in ski jumping, and mixed relay team in skeleton.
Ski mountaineering is also making its debut in Italy. It will consist of three medal events – men’s sprint, women’s sprint and mixed relay.
Team ski jumping and Nordic combined will switch to two-person teams, with the latter adopting a large hill course.
Winter Olympics 2026 Schedule: Key Dates & Daily Highlights
Here are the key dates for the 2026 Winter Olympics:
| Date | Event/Sport | Location | Time |
| Feb 6 | Opening Ceremony | Milan | 18:00 |
| Feb 7-15 | Alpine Skiing | Cortina d’Ampezzo | 09:00-17:00 |
| Feb 7-21 | Ice Hockey | Milan | 10:00-22:00 |
| Feb 8-16 | Figure Skating | Milan | 12:00-21:00 |
| Feb 9-17 | Snowboarding | Cortina d’Ampezzo | 10:00-18:00 |
| Feb 10-18 | Curling | Milan | 08:00-20:00 |
| Feb 12-20 | Bobsleigh/Skeleton | Cortina d’Ampezzo | 09:00-18:00 |
| Feb 14-21 | Cross-Country Skiing | Cortina d’Ampezzo | 08:00-16:00 |
| Feb 22 | Closing Ceremony | Milan | 19:00 |
Here are some of the daily highlights:
- Friday, February 6: Opening ceremony.
- Saturday, February 7 (Day 1): First medals in women’s 10km skiathlon, men’s downhill, women’s 3,000m speed skating, women’s normal hill ski jumping, and men’s snowboarding big air.
- Sunday, February 8 (Day 2): Women’s alpine skiing downhill, men’s 5,000m speed skating, and parallel giant slalom snowboarding.
- Wednesday, February 11 (Day 5): Women’s 15km biathlon, men’s super-G, and Nordic combined.
- Friday, February 13 (Day 7): Men’s figure skating (free skate), men’s 10,000m speed skating.
- Saturday, February 14 (Day 8): Women’s 4×7.5km relay, men’s giant slalom.
- Sunday, February 15 (Day 9): Men’s biathlon 12.5km pursuit, Women’s monobob, and mixed team skeleton.
- Thursday, February 19 (Day 13): Women’s figure skating (free skate), women’s ice hockey gold medal game, and ski mountaineering.
- Saturday, February 21 (Day 15): Men’s 50km cross-country, mixed team ski jumping, and speed skating mass start.
- Sunday, February 22 (Day 16): Men’s ice hockey gold medal game, closing ceremony.
How to Watch the Winter Olympics 2026 Live on TV & Online (UK & Globally)
You can watch Milano-Cortina 2026 via traditional broadcasts and streaming on the platforms of various media rights holders. These include:
- Australia – Nine
- Brazil – TV Globo, CazeTV
- Canada – CBC, Bell Media, Rogers Media
- Pan Europe – Warner Bros Discovery (HBO Max, Eurosport), national EBU broadcasters
- France – Warner Bros Discovery, France TV
- Germany – Warner Bros Discovery, ARD, ZDF
- Italy – Warner Bros Discovery, RAI
- Japan – Japan Consortium (NHK, JBA, Fuji TV, Nippon TV, TBS, TV Asahi, TV Tokyo)
- Netherlands – Warner Bros Discovery, NOS
- New Zealand – Sky
- China – China Media Group (CCTV, Yangshipin)
- Republic of Korea – JTBC, Naver
- Switzerland – Warner Bros Discovery, SRF, RTS, RSI
- United Kingdom – Warner Bros Discovery (Discovery+, TNT Sports), BBC Sport
- United States – NBC Olympics, Peacock
Winter Olympics 2026 Predictions: What to Expect in Milan & Cortina
When it comes to winning medals at the Winter Olympics, Norway stands head and shoulders above the rest.
The nation has won 405 medals overall, including 148 gold. The US are second in the all-time medal table with 330 medals (114 gold).
The return of NHL players to the Games will increase the chances of US winning gold in the men’s ice hockey, although Canada may have something to say about that.
Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid says he cannot wait to represent Canada in the Winter Olympics for the first time.
“I’m definitely excited about it – it’s on my mind a lot these days for sure, and I’m excited to get going,” McDavid said.
“It’s the biggest sporting event in the world, and to do it together with 25 of Canada’s best hockey players, it’s a dream come true, it really is.
“I know everybody feels the same way, and we’re just looking for the opportunity to go over and play.”
“It’s the Olympic Games, but it’s a hockey tournament at the end of the day, and we’re there to play hockey, and we’re there to do a job.
“It will be cool to experience the city and know what it’s like. I think (events) are pretty spread out this year with things happening all over the place, so it might be a little bit of a unique experience. But we’re there to play a hockey tournament and are there to win.”
Elsewhere, Mikaela Shiffrin is one to watch in women’s alpine skiing. She is rated as the favourite in slalom after failing to get on the podium in 2022.
Ilia Malinin will bid to keep pushing the boundaries in figure skating. The 21-year-old has already won two world titles and is bidding to claim his first Olympic gold.
The ‘Quad God’ is the only skater to have landed a quadruple axel, once thought to be impossible, in competition. He is a banker bet to win the men’s singles event.
Scotty James (snowboarding), Francesco Friedrich (bobsled) and Eileen Gu (freestyle skiing) are other athletes who should win gold medals in Italy.
Aside from the sporting element, the Olympic movement continues to navigate through increasingly murky geopolitical waters.
US president Donald Trump’s foreign interventions have caused headaches, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still casts a shadow over major sports events.
Russian and Belarusian athletes approved to compete at Milano-Cortina 2026 will do so as ‘individual neutral athletes’.
The organisers have attempted to frame Milano-Cortina as an environmentally friendly event designed for the modern era.
However, spreading the Games across different locations will undoubtedly place additional strain on the local transport infrastructure.
Despite this, the Winter Olympics continues to hold a special place in the hearts of sports fans and the 2026 edition is guaranteed to generate plenty of highlight reel moments.
