The 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics are in northern Italy, and you can join in the excitement! Whether you get tickets to wheelchair curling, watch the snowboarding halfpipe on TV or head out to see the torch relay, it is sure to be impressive.

It’s all ice and snow for the Winter Games. Here is a rundown of the different sports and what events they entail.

Team USA will participate in all events.

“2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics: Feb. 6-22, 2026”

“2026 Milano Cortina Winter Paralympics: March 6-15, 2026”

Olympic Tickets | Paralympic Tickets

Locations

• Milan (Olympic opening ceremony, ice hockey, skating)

• Livigno (freestyle skiing, snowboard)

• Stelvio (men’s skiing, skimo)

• Cortina d’Ampezzo (women’s skiing, para skiing, para snowboard, curling, sliding, Paralympic closing ceremony)

• Anterselva (biathlon)

• Predazzo (ski jumping)

• Tesero (cross-country skiing, para biathlon)

• Verona (Olympic closing ceremony, Paralympic opening ceremony)

How to Watch

Keep in mind that commentary will be in the local language.

• Germany: ARD and ZDF

• Italy: RAI

• England: BBC iplayer

• Poland: TVP

• Using a VPN in Europe to access US broadcasts:

• NBC (requires a local affiliate account)

• Peacock (paid subscription)

The slender, minimalist cylindrical torch for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics was named “Essential” and designed with an aim for achieving a larger flame, allowing the fire to be the focus. The Olympic torch has a blue-green finish while the Paralympic torch is a bronzy-brown. Both torches are on display at the Triennale Milano art museum in Milan until the end of the games.

Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic torch relay is traversing all of Italy and coming close to many U.S. military installations. It officially begins in Greece on Nov. 26, 2025 where the flame is lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece using an ancient Greek parabolic (curved) mirror. After a relay in Greece, the torch is lands in Rome, Italy on Dec. 4, 2025 and traverses all 110 of the country’s provinces over the following two months.

• Near Camp Darby in Livorno on Dec. 12, 2025

• Near NAS Sigonella in Catania on Dec. 18, 2025

• In Naples on Dec. 23, 2025

• In Vicenza on Jan. 20, 2026

• Near Aviano AB in Udine on Jan. 24 and Belluno on Jan. 25, 2026

• Opening ceremony and torch lighting in Milan on Feb. 6, 2026

Paralympic Torch Relay

The Paralympic torch will travel near USAG Italy in Vicenza and Aviano AB during its tour. The route begins on Feb. 24, 2026 at the Stoke Mandeveille Hospital in Aylesbury, England, where the therapeutic use of sports competitions led to the paralympic games in 1960. The paralympic torch will be lit at the hospital and then sent in five separate ‘sparks’ to Flame Festivals in northern Italy before reuniting for a three-day relay.

• Flame Festivals in Milan, Turin, Bolzano, Trento and Trieste from 24 Feb – March 2, 2026.

• Cortina d’Ampezzo flame unification on March 3, 2026

• Relay in Venice on March 4, 2026

• Relay in Padova on March 5, 2026

• Opening ceremony and torch lighting in Verona on Mar 6, 2026

Here is a rundown of the Olympic sports that will be on display at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Each sport has multiple events with various categories and they are all listed here.

Alpine Skiing

Speed and technique are key for the six alpine skiing events. Downhill involves a long high-speed course with jumps and gates for keeping on track. A Slalom competition has two rounds on two courses with technical aspects and tight gates. The Giant Slalom is a longer, faster version of the slalom with wider gates and two courses. The single-run Super-G, or super giant slalom, has aspects of both a downhill and slalom course. A Combined event involves a single calculated score between two athletes – one skiing a downhill course and the other skiing a slalom.

Snowboard

Snowboarding has both timed downhill and stunt-based freestyle events. In the Parallel Giant Slalom, two snowboarders race for time down a side-by-side course. Slopestyle courses have rails and jumps with points accumulated by trick quality. In a Snowboard Cross event, athletes are timed down a course with jumps, moguls and curves. Athletes are judged on the style and difficulty of their stunts in the Halfpipe and while airborne after sliding down a massive ramp for Big Air events.

Ski Jumping

Both the distance they fly and an athlete’s style while airborne contribute to a final score in ski jumping. Jumps occur on special-built ramps with sloped landing zones. There are both Large Hill and Normal Hill events, plus Team events with shared scores.

Freestyle Skiing

There are lots of different events in freestyle skiing that involves multiple skiers on slopes with obstacles for tricks. A Slopestyle course has rails and jumps for stunts, the Moguls courses give athletes a slope full of bumps to accrue points on both tricks and speed, and a Ski Cross course is judged on speed down a course with jumps and curves. There are also airborne events; for Aerials there are ramps skiers flying off to do tricks, the Halfpipe is a large U-shaped slope, and then there is the massive ramp for the Big Air event giving skiers lots of airtime for stunts before landing.  

Ski Mountaineering (SkiMo)

This is the first year that SkiMo will be included as an Olympic sport: It involves skiing uphill with skins to help grip the snow, stashed skis in a backpack for hiking sections and then skiing off-piste-style sections of a downhill course. There are Sprint events for individual athletes on a short course and Mixed Relay events for two athletes, one woman and one man, who alternate tackling a longer course.

Cross-country Skiing

Using long, slim and lightweight skis, athletes traverse snow-covered terrain to race for time. The 2026 Winter Olympics is the first time cross-country ski courses will be the same for both men and women. There are two techniques in cross-country skiing: When athletes use their skis in a forward, parallel motion it is called Classic, and when they use a faster skating method, it is called Freestyle. Individual Sprint (1.5km) and 10km events allow freestyle, while the long 50km course requires classic technique. Two events blend both styles, the individual 20km Skiathlon and the four-person team Relays.

Biathlon

In a biathlon, athletes cross-country ski between ranges where they use a rifle to shoot targets. Individual events use staggered start times for long courses with four shooting ranges; Sprint events are half that. In a Relay or Mixed Relay event, a four-person team tackles a long course with individual cross-country ski sections and two shooting ranges per teammate. Lastly, a Mass Start event is similar to individual races, but with up to 30 athletes starting together.  

Nordic Combined

With both individual and team competitions, the Nordic Combined is a unique sport. Competitors start at the top of either the Large Hill or the Normal Hill to begin the event with a ski jump. Scores for the ski jump establish a starting order and time penalties for the next stage: a 10-kilometer cross-country ski race with the winner crossing the finish line first.

Bobsleigh

The bobsleigh is an enclosed and steerable sled with brakes. The team pushes it in a running start, then jump on as it enters the downhill part of the icy track. Events include the Monobob with one female athlete, 2-man or 2-woman races with a single pilot and a single brakeman, or a 4-man race with four athletes.

Skeleton

The skeleton uses an open sled for a single athlete using only body movement for steerage and breaking. They sprint along the starting area of the ice track to build up speed before hopping on the sled head-first and on their belly.

Luge

The luge also uses an open sled with a single athlete using their body to steer. The race begins with the athlete sitting atop the sled using their hands to launch. Once gliding, they lay flat on their back with feet first down the course.

Curling

This is a team sport where the goal is to glide eight granite stones across the ice to a target. Because the stone will naturally curl one direction (giving the sport its name), teammates use brushes to sweep the ice, affecting the stone’s speed and curl.

Figure Skating

With scores based on both performance and technical ability, figure skating athletes exhibit their skills with routines set to music. There are both men’s and women’s Single Skating events and Pair events, plus couples’ Ice Dancing. There is also a Team Competition in which each team presents short programs and free skating performances to be scored together.

Ice Hockey

This team sport allows a maximum of six team members on the ice at one time with a goal of using their stick to hit the puck into the opponent’s net. There is a Women’s event and a Men’s event.

Speed Skating

Using special ice skates and aerodynamic gear, athletes race in pairs for these speed-skating events. Races on the Short Track (111.12 meters) involve multiple elimination rounds, while races on the Speed Skating Track (400 meters) are timed. On both tracks, race lengths are 500, 1000, and 1500 meters, plus longer Women’s, Men’s and Mixed Team Relay events. Two teams of three race in the single-elimination-style Team Pursuit events, and 24 racers begin the Mass Start event with 16 laps and three sprints.  

Para Alpine Skiing

Athletes will participate in downhill skiing, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Super Combined events in three categories: standing, sitting and vision impaired.

Para Biathlon

For this cross-country ski race, athletes compete on traditional skis or sit-skis and stop at shooting ranges to hit two targets, which may be size modified. If needed, athletes may have a coach pull the trigger once they have aimed and positioned their rifle.

Para Cross-Country Skiing

Athletes race in relays and 5-, 10- and 20-kilometer cross-country skiing events in standing, sitting or vision impaired categories.

Para Ice Hockey

Using a special seated sledge and two sticks, athletes play ice hockey games consisting of three 15-minute periods.

Para Snowboard

There are Banked Slalom and Snowboard Cross events and athletes may participate using lower-limb prosthetics, modified equipment or a standing snowboard.

Wheelchair Curling

All team members use wheelchairs for curling and the athlete throwing the stone may have a fellow teammate stabilize their wheelchair.