The 2026 Winter Olympics begin on Friday, Feb. 6, with an opening ceremony featuring around 92 countries competing and nearly 3,000 athletes.
Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 Winter Olympics:
Recommended Videos
Where are the Olympics this year?
The 2026 Olympics will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. This is the first time the Games will be co-hosted by two cities. The events will be held across several venues in northern Italy.
When is the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony will take place on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, at 2 p.m. EST.
According to the Olympics website, the opening event will be spread across multiple locations for the first time. The theme of the ceremony is “Harmony” (“Armonia” in Italian).
The ceremony will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo in the town centre, with Piazza Angelo Dibona hosting the lighting of the cauldron.
Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Pierfrancesco Favino, Laura Pausini, and The Paper star Sabrina Impacciatore are expected to perform at the opening ceremony.
You can watch the ceremony on Local 4 at 2 p.m. on Friday, or at 8 p.m. for the special primetime presentation.
How long are the Olympics?
The Winter Olympics officially last for 17 days, running from the opening to the closing ceremony. The closing ceremony will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026.
What sports will be in the Winter Olympics?
Here’s a list of sports that are in the Winter Olympics:
- Alpine Skiing
- Biathlon
- Bobsleigh
- Cross-Country Skiing
- Curling
- Figure Skating
- Freestyle Skiing
- Ice Hockey
- Luge
- Nordic Combined
- Short Track Speed Skating
- Skeleton
- Ski Jumping
- Ski Mountaineering
- Snowboard
- Speed Skating
Where can I watch the Olympics?
You can watch the 2026 Winter Olympics on Local 4 on weekdays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. for our Ozone special, and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. You can also watch the Olympics on Peacock.
See the full schedule on Local 4 here.
To see the full schedule of events in the Winter Olympics, click here.