Milano Cortina 2026 – Winter Games
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Olympics: 6 – 22 Feb 2026
Paralympics: 6 – 15 Mar 2026
Seventy years after hosting the seventh Winter Olympics, Cortina d’Ampezzo once again welcomed the athletes of the world to compete in the Games; however, this time, it was a co-host city with Milano.
Milano Cortina 2026 was the first time the Olympics and Paralympics were officially a regional Games. With venues spread across northern Italy, these Games leveraged existing venues in an effort to be more fiscally responsible.
While that effort may have been successful in one sense, it also created hassles, as fans, journalists and even National Olympic Committees had difficulty traveling around the region.
Gender equality was another issue with these Olympics. While they were touted as the most gender-balanced Winter Games yet, Nordic combined was the holdout sport that did not have a women’s event on the Olympic program.
Ski mountaineering (SkiMo) was the lone addition to the sport program and proved to be very popular.
These Games showcased Italian design and creativity, as this was the first Olympics to have a temporary speed skating track. Organizers also split the Opening Ceremony between Milano and Cortina and provided ways for athletes in other locations to walk in their own Parade of Nations.
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Olympics
What sports are on the Olympic and Paralympic programs?
The Olympics will feature: Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined (the only sport to not have a women’s event), short track, skeleton, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snowboard, speed skating.
The Paralympics will feature: Para alpine skiing, para ice hockey, para Nordic skiing, para snowboard, wheelchair curling.
What are the new sports and events this year?
Ski mountaineering will be the only new sport. It will have sprint events for men and women, and a mixed relay.
New events will be freestyle skiing – dual moguls, luge – separate men’s and women’s doubles, skeleton – mixed team event, ski jumping – women’s large hill.
Alpine skiing’s mixed team parallel event will not be on the program because men and women will be competing in different locations.
Where will the different events be held?
Milan will host the Olympic Opening Ceremony at Meazza Stadium; speed skating and ice hockey at Rho Fiera Milano; ice hockey and para ice hockey at PalaItalia Santa Giulia; and figure skating and short track speed skating at Forum di Assago.
The Valtellina area will host several competitions. Livigno will host freestyle skiing and snowboard. Bormio Stelvio will have Alpine skiing and ski mountaineering.
The Arena of Verona will host the Olympic Closing Ceremony and the Paralympic Opening Ceremony.
Val di Fiemme will host ski jumping, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, para cross-country skiing and para biathlon.
Anterselva’s Südtirol Arena will host biathlon.
Cortina D’Ampezzo will have curling and wheelchair curling at Cortina Olympic Stadium, which hosted events during the 1956 Winter Olympics. The Olympia delle Tofane will have Alpine skiing, para Alpine skiing, and para snowboard.
The venue for sliding events (bobsled, skeleton, and luge) is controversial. The Organizing Committee is attempting to rebuild the sliding track in Cortina, which was originally built for the Winter Olympics in 1956, but was closed in 2008. If the venue is not ready in time, events may take place outside of Italy. Possible locations include Innsbruck, Austria; St. Moritz, Switzerland; and Lake Placid, New York, USA.
Who are the mascots?
Meet Tina and Milo! The stoat siblings are joined by six snowdrops called The Flo.
Tina, named for Cortina, is the Olympic mascot. She is creative and down-to-earth and lives in the city. Her catchphrase is “Dream big!” Milo, the Paralympic mascot, is named for Milano. He loves to play in the snow, play practical jokes, and invent musical instruments. Milo was born without a paw and has learned to use his tail instead. His motto is, “Obstacles are trampolines.”
What do we know about the torches and torch relays?
The countdown to the Games isn’t complete without the torch relay. The Olympic flame comes from Greece, lit in Olympia where the ancient Olympics originated. The flame for Milan-Cortina 2026 will be created on November 26, 2025 and embark on a 63-day journey to Milano.
After the flame lighting, Olympic torchbearers will run a relay within Greece, and then the flame travels to Rome, where it will travel through all of the country’s 110 provinces before arriving at the cauldron.
The relay will cover 12,000 kilometers and have celebrations in 60 cities throughout the country. Organizers plan on having 10,001 torchbearers to help the flame make its journey.
2026 Winter Olympics torch relay map (via Milan-Cortina 2026)
The Paralympic torch relay will take place between two Games. Its flame will be generated on February 24, 2026, at the founding place of the Paralympics, the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. This relay will last 11 days and cover 2,000 kilometers across northern Italy before arriving in Verona for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony. Like the Olympic torch relay, this edition will also have city celebrations along the way, with nine cities taking part.
2026 Winter Paralympics torch relay map (via Milan-Cortina 2026)
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee unveiled the torch designs on April 14, 2025. Developed by Eni in collaboration with Versalis (Eni), Studio Carlo Ratti Associati designed the torches, and Cavagna Group engineered and produced them.
Both torches are named “Essential,” and feature a minimalist design. The torches themselves are long tubes of recycled aluminum and brass alloy. In a nod to sustainability, the design features a fueling system that can be refilled up to 10 times, so torches will be reused throughout the route (collectors, take note of potential scarcity of torches), and the burner will run on bio-LPG fuel.
The torches have an iridescent look thanks to Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technology. Depending on the light, they may blend in with the environment.
The Olympic and Paralympic torches (photo courtesy of Milan-Cortina 2026)
Of course, they wouldn’t be Games torches without a lot of meaning put into them. The Olympic torch has a blue-green finish evoking “Shades of Sky.” The color further gives a feel of “movement, hope and transformation.” while the Paralympic torch has bronze tones, showcasing “Mountains of Light, honoring the inner strength of Paralympic athletes and the power of their courage to reshape the world.”
One element of these torches that makes them stand out from their predecessors is that each has a vertical translucent panel that allows you to see the inner workings of the fuel mechanism.
What do we know about the medals?
Not many athletes will be able to call themselves Olympic or Paralympic medalists. For those that do get on the podium, what does the hardware look like?
(photos: Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026)
Fondazione Milano Cortina, the organizing committee, likens the medals to two halves that come together and are sealed with Olympic (or Paralympic) values.
Pictures don’t seem to do them justice, as one half has a granular texture, and the other is mirrored.
Where can I watch the Games?
Broadcasters pay for the rights to air the Olympics and Paralympics on TV and streaming services. Here’s where you can watch in your part of the world:
Australia: Nine holds the rights and will air on 9Now and Stan for web and app. Channel 9 will air on TV.
Botswana: Globo holds the rights and will stream on globoplay and Ge.globo.
Brazil: Watch on two TV networks, TV Globo and sportv.
Canada: CBC holds the rights and will air on CBC Gem and Tou.tv.
China: CMG holds the rights. On TV, go to CMG. On the web, go to CCTV.com, CCTVSports, and Yangshipin.
- Macau: CMG (web)
Europe (not Italy or the UK): European Broadcasting Union holds the rights. Eurovision Sport will stream all Paralympic sports.
- Austria: ORF Streaming Platform
- Belgium: VTM Go
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: BHRT (TV, web, app)
- Bulgaria: BNT Sport and BNT BG TV (web and app)
- Croatia: HRT2 (TV)
- Cyprus: RIK.CY (web and app)
- Czechia: CT Sport Plus (web and app)
- Denmark: TV2 Play (web and app)
- Estonia: On TV, viewers can watch in Estonian on ETV, ETV2, and in Russian on ETV+
- Finland: YLE TV1, YLE TV2, and YLE Fem/Teema (all TV); YLE Areena (web and app)
- Germany: Das Erste (TV); ARD Mediathek, Sportschau.de, and ARD Sounds (web and app)
- Greece: ERT 1, ERT2, ERT3, ERTNEWS, ERTSPORTS (TV), ERTFLIX (web/app)
- Iceland: RUV (TV, web, app)
- Kosovo: RTK (TV)
- Lithuania: LRT (web and app)
- Netherlands: NOS (TV, web, app)
- Portugal: RTP (TV, web, app)
- Serbia: RTS (TV, web, app)
- Slovenia: RTV (TV)
- Switzerland: Switzerland will be airing in three languages: German, Italian and French. On TV, it’ll be Play SRF, Play RSI and Play RTS. On web and app it’s SRF, RSI and RTS.
- Turkiye: TRT SPOR and TRT SPOR YILDIZ (TV) and tabii spor (web and app)
Italy: RAI (TV, web, app)
Japan: JBA and NHK hold the rights. Watch on TVer and NHK Special Site (web and app).
Mexico: Televisa holds the rights. Watch on ViX via app. On the web, go to Canal Nu9ve and TUDN.
South Korea: JTBC holds the rights. Watch on the web at JTBC.
USA: NBC holds the rights and will air on NBC properties. For web, it’s NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.
- US territories should check NBCOlympics.com on the web