From Milan to the Mountains: Inside the Milano Cortina Olympics
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will not unfold in a single host city. Instead, the Games will stretch across northern Italy, pairing Milan’s urban venues with Alpine locations that deliver the classic Olympic winter setting.
Competition begins on Feb. 4 with curling, followed by the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6. The Games will run through Feb. 22, concluding with the Closing Ceremony inside Verona’s historic Arena. Athletes will compete for 116 gold medals across eight sports and 16 disciplines, with events split between mountain courses and city arenas.
The Games will see several new additions, one of the most notable being ski mountaineering, which makes its Olympic debut. The discipline combines endurance and technique, requiring athletes to climb mountains either on skis or carrying them before racing downhill. Other changes include a mixed relay in skeleton, the replacement of open doubles with men’s and women’s doubles in luge, the addition of a women’s large hill individual event in ski jumping, and men’s and women’s dual moguls in freestyle skiing. Several competitions will be played in temporary venues. Speed skating is scheduled to take place on an indoor rink built inside trade fair halls in Rho, just outside Milan. Ice hockey games will likely be played on a shorter rink than standard professional size ? a design that would make the games feel faster, with more compact action.
Cortina d’Ampezzo will provide the Winter Games’ iconic Alpine backdrop. The athletes’ village there will consist largely of mobile homes, functioning more like a modern base camp than a permanent complex. Rising above it all, the Dolomites will frame the events, turning each run into a dramatic showcase of sport and scenery.
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1. When is the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics?
2. How many gold medals will athletes compete for during the Winter Games?
3. What new discipline will make its official Olympic debut in Italy?
4. Where will the athletes’ village consist largely of modern mobile homes?
1. Why are temporary venues better than building permanent ones for Olympics?
2. How does the location of a sports event affect your experience?
3. Is it fair to hold the Olympics across many different cities?
4. Which winter sport would you most like to watch in Italy?
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will not unfold in a single host city. Instead, the Games will stretch across northern Italy, pairing Milan’s urban venues with Alpine locations that deliver the classic Olympic winter setting.
