The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially the XXV Winter Olympic Games, are set to begin less than one year from now in Northern Italy. The Milano Cortina games will see the international sporting tournament return to Italy for the 3rd time in history.
The opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina games is set to take place on the 6 February at San Siro Stadium in Milan. The official schedule takes place from the 4 February – 22 February, with a few non-medal events beginning before the opening ceremony. The 19 days of competition will see 93 countries compete across 16 Olympic sports with a total of 116 medal events.
The Paralympic Winter Games will take place just a month later between 6 March – 15 March 2026, with Arena di Verona hosting the opening ceremony. An estimated 600 athletes are expected to be competing in 79 medal disciplines over six sports.
For the first time in Olympic history, the games will be co-hosted by two cities, making it the most geographically widespread Olympic Games to date! Milan will play host to the indoor ice skating events, while Cortina d’Ampezzo and other surrounding mountain clusters will hold the outdoor winter sports from Alpine Skiing to Curling to Skeleton.
The Italian National Olympic Committee came forward with the proposal of a dual host to effectively accommodate the upcoming sports, combining alpine landscapes and urban development.
With the games returning to Europe for the first time in 12 years, Italy is in the midst of great preparations. Having hosted the games previously, as well as boasting an ever-flourishing winter sports community, Milano Cortina will use mostly pre-existing venues in a cost cutting initiative. A total of 25 event venues will be in use, spread over an area of 8,000 square miles.
One of the main venues is still under construction, however. The highly anticipated Cortina Sliding Centre will play host to sports such as luge, bobsleigh, and skeleton. Having closed in 2008, the century old venue is currently undergoing a complete reconstruction – expected to cost approximately €300 million. But with less than a year until athletes are expected to compete at the venue, there are fears it may not be completed in time.
The chief executive of 2026 games, Andrea Varnier, expressed his hopefulness that the track will be completed in time. But the International Olympic Committee remain apprehensive, with a backup confirmed as New York’s Lake Placid, over 1,200 miles away.
The 2026 games will see not only new athletes make their debut, but also new sports. Ski Mountaineering will be included in the Olympics for the first time. The sport, often referred to as “Skimo”, consists of its participants racing up and down a mountainous course, alternating between skiing and walking. This new addition will see a total of 36 athletes competing in three medal disciplines: Women’s sprint, Men’s Sprint, and Mixed Gender Relay.
An additional five new disciplines will also be introduced to existing sports: Combined Team Alpine Skiing, Women’s Doubles Luge, Mixed Team Skeleton, Women’s Large Hill Ski Jumping, and Dual Moguls in Freestyle Skiing.
These Olympic adaptations play a significant role in not only the expansion of the sporting schedule, but also in gender equality. They will allow more female athletes to participate and show their skills on international stage.
The 2026 instalment of the Winter Olympics will see huge differences from Beijing 2022, which was held at the height of the Covid- 19 pandemic. Next year, athletes will be joined by family, friends, and fans from all around the world as they compete. This is unlike the previous games, where strict covid regulations meant that a select few were in attendance, with no international fans permitted.
The Milano Cortina games are set to be a lively return to the peak of winter sports for many fans, offering the highest level of performance and a passionate audience alongside.
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