Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony: time, venue, schedule

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony 2026 will take place at San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday, Feb. 6, formally launching the Milano Cortina Games after preliminary competitions begin two days earlier across northern Italy.

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MILAN —The 2026 Winter Olympics dates run from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22, followed by the Winter Paralympics from March 6 to March 15. Several events, including curling mixed doubles, begin on Feb. 4 before the ceremony.

The opening ceremony Olympics 2026 is scheduled for 8 p.m. local time and is expected to last around three hours, featuring the parade of nations, the Olympic oath and the lighting of the cauldron.

The 2026 Winter Olympics location is officially designated as Milano Cortina, a multi-cluster host spanning Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige, with events distributed across mountain regions and cities rather than a single Olympic park.

Milan will host ice sports such as figure skating, ice hockey and short-track speed skating. Cortina d’Ampezzo will stage alpine skiing, curling and sliding sports. Bormio will host men’s alpine events, while Val di Fiemme and Predazzo will stage ski jumping and cross-country skiing. Livigno will host freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

San Siro, home to AC Milan and Inter Milan, will be converted into the ceremonial venue for one night as organisers transform the football stadium into the centrepiece of the Games’ opening event.

Organisers say around 90% of venues are existing or temporary as part of a sustainability plan to limit new construction and use established winter sport facilities.

More than 3,000 athletes from over 90 countries are expected to compete in 116 medal events through Feb. 22, with medals already contested before the cauldron is lit in Milan.