The 2026 Winter Olympics, also known as the Milan-Cortina 2026, will open on Feb. 4 in Italy, marking the country’s return to the Games for the first time in 20 years and spreading competition across multiple cities. The Milan-Cortina Games will feature more than 2,900 athletes from around all across the world competing in winter sports, including figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating, short track speed skating, curling, alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, ski mountaineering, ski jumping, biathlon, cross-country skiing, nordic combined, bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge. Events will be held through Feb. 22, with venues divided between Italy’s mountainous Northern cities.
Scheduled to take place at Milan´s San Siro Stadium, the opening ceremony titled ”Harmony,” or ”Armonia” in Italian, followed stories of bringing the world together. Through performances of folk tales such as ”Cupid” and ”Pinocchio,” featuring thousands of dancers and even famous American singer Mariah Carey, the event opened to showcase Italy’s culture, creativities, and talents. Afterwards, the Olympic Torch was lit and the Olympic Flag was raised to celebrate the game’s beginnings.
As of Feb. 20, 308 medals have been awarded to dozens of countries, seeking to display their country’s athletics. Norway sits at the top of the leaderboard with 17 gold medals, while the United States of America has ten gold medals in second place, and Italy holds close with nine gold medals in third place. There are 93 countries participating in total.
The closing ceremony will take place in Verona, also known as Italy’s ”City of Love” on Feb. 22. On top of more cultural performances, competitors will enter together in the Parade of Athletes to display the world’s unity, and the Olympic Flame will be extinguished.
Officials have emphasized sustainability as a major focus of the Games. Instead of building large numbers of new arenas, organizers plan to renovate and reuse current venues, aiming to limit environmental impact in the long term expenses. Local leaders have said preparations are creating jobs and improving transportation infrastructure ahead of the global event.
Italy last hosted the Winter Olympics in 2006 in Turin. With Milan-Cortina 2026, the International Olympic Committee continues its recent shift toward shared-host models, signaling a new approach to how future Olympic Games may be organized.
The Winter Olympics of 2030 will take place in the French Alps of France.
