Four years after the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, served as a celebration of he emergence from COVID, the world will convene in Italy for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
This will be the third time Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics (Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006) and its fourth Olympics overall (Rom Summer Olympics in 1960), and this Olympiad will mark the debut of the new sport of ski mountaineering.
The two-week festival beings on Feb. 6 and will be carried in the United States on NBC and Peacock.
When do the 2026 Winter Olympics start?
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina are set to begin on Feb. 6, and will run until Feb. 22. The Winter Paralympic Games will then begin on March 6 and will run until March 15.
Where will the 2026 Winter Olympics be held?
Italy will be hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics for the third time, with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo as the official hosts of the event. Milan is in the Alps, in the north of Italy and has a metro population of more than 6 million.
Cortina d’Ampezzo is about a four and a half hour drive east of Milan, also in the Alps, due north of Venice. It has a population of about 5,500. It will host the Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton and curling.
How can you watch the 2026 Winter Olympics?
All of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be streamed on Peacock, with NBC broadcasting parts of the games live.
Coverage of the 2026 Winter Games will begin with the Opening Ceremony set to take place at the San Siro Stadium in Milan. The ceremony will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock on Feb. 6.
Peacock offers three subscription options: select for $7.99 a month, premium for $10.99 a month and premium plus for $16.99 a month.
2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics schedule
The full schedule for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics can be found here.
What new events will debut at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Ski mountaineering will debut with men’s, women’s, and mixed relay competitions, alongside a new mixed-team competition in skeleton and dual moguls in freestyle skiing for both men and women.
What is Ski Mountaineering?
Ski mountaineering combines aspects of uphill climbing and descending over snow, on challenging alpine terrain.
Per AI, the sport tests athletes’ endurance, technical climbing skills, and downhill skiing capabilities. In the sprint event, competitors race over a short course that includes ascents and descents using climbing skins (grippy material attached to the base of skis) for uphill sections and removing them for fast downhill runs.
The mixed relay will involve teams of male and female athletes working together, each completing a portion of the course.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: When will the 2026 Winter Olympics start? Dates, location, what to know
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
