2026 Winter Olympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
XXV Olympic Winter Games

Emblem of the 2026 Winter Olympics
Host city	Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy
Motto	IT's Your Vibe
Nations	92
Athletes	2,871 (1,533 men, 1,338 women)
Events	116 in 8 sports (16 disciplines)
Opening	6 February 2026
Closing	22 February 2026
Opened by	President Sergio Mattarella
Cauldron	Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba (Milan) Sofia Goggia (Cortina d'Ampezzo)
Stadium	Stadio San Siro (Opening ceremony) Verona Arena (Closing ceremony)
Winter
← Beijing 2022 French Alps 2030 →
Summer
← Paris 2024 Los Angeles 2028 →

The 2026 Winter Olympics, also known as Milano Cortina 2026, is a major international sports event happening in Italy. These Games officially began on February 6, 2026, and will continue until February 22, 2026. Athletes from many countries are competing in various winter sports across different locations in Lombardy and Northeast Italy. Some competitions started even earlier, on February 4, 2026.

This year, a new sport called ski mountaineering made its first appearance at the Winter Olympics. These Games are also special because they are the first Olympic Games officially hosted by two cities: Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics two times before, with Cortina d'Ampezzo previously hosting them in 1956.

Choosing the Host Cities

The process of choosing where the Olympic Games would be held is called the bidding process. Cities from different countries presented their plans to host the event.

How Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo Were Chosen

Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo were chosen to host the 2026 Winter Olympics on June 24, 2019. This decision was made at a special meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Their joint bid won against another proposal from Stockholm and Åre in Sweden.

2026 Winter Olympics Bidding Results

City	Nation	Votes
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo	Italy	47
Stockholm–Åre	Sweden	34
One abstention

Preparing for the Games

Many preparations were made to get ready for the Winter Olympics. This included getting the sports venues ready and planning the special ceremonies.

Sports Venues

Stadio San Siro in Milan (top) and Verona Arena (bottom) are the venues of opening and closing ceremonies, respectively.

The Games are mostly using sports venues that already existed in Lombardy and Northeast Italy. Some of these were even used for the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Most of the ice events, like ice hockey and figure skating, are held in the Milan area. Snow events and sliding sports, like bobsleigh, are taking place in areas around Cortina, Valtellina, and the Fiemme Valley.

A new 12,000-seat arena was built in Milan for ice hockey games. The famous Stadio San Siro in Milan hosted the exciting opening ceremony. The historic Verona Arena in Verona is scheduled to host the closing ceremony. Athletes are staying in special Olympic villages or hotels near their competition sites.

Speed Skating Venue Decision

During the planning, there was a discussion about where to hold the speed skating events. Building a new roof for an existing rink was too expensive. Eventually, it was decided that the speed skating events would be held at the Fiera Milano in Milan. This venue was confirmed in April 2023.

The Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic torch relay began on November 26, 2025, when the flame was lit in Olympia, Greece. It traveled a long journey, visiting many places in Greece and then all 110 provinces of Italy. The relay ended on February 6, 2026, in Milan, just in time for the opening ceremony at Stadio San Siro. The torch was designed to be refilled many times, using a special fuel made from renewable materials.

Medals for the Champions

On July 15, 2025, the official medals for the Games were shown to the public in Venice. The medals have a special design, made of two halves. This design represents the journey of an athlete and the teamwork involved in reaching their goals. The medals feature the traditional Olympic five-ring symbol on one side. The other side has an inscription detailing the event and the venue.

The Games in Action

Opening Ceremony: A Grand Start

A scene from the opening ceremony; the unveiling of the Olympic rings

The Olympic cauldron in Milan

The opening ceremony took place on February 6, 2026, at Stadio San Siro in Milan. It was called "Armonia," which means "Harmony" in Italian. The ceremony featured amazing performances, including those by American singer Mariah Carey and Italian artists Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli. For the first time in Olympic history, two Olympic cauldrons were lit, one in Milan and one in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Exciting Sports and Events

The 2026 Winter Olympics feature 116 medal events across 16 different sports. This is an increase of seven events compared to the last Winter Olympics. New medal events include men's and women's dual moguls in freestyle skiing. Also, men's and women's doubles in luge returned.

For the first time, ski mountaineering was added as an Olympic sport. It includes men's sprint, women's sprint, and mixed relay events. This year's Games have the highest percentage of women participating in Winter Olympic history. Women are also racing the same distances as men in cross-country skiing for the first time.

The numbers in parentheses show how many medal events are in each sport.

Closing Ceremony: A Farewell to the Games

The closing ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Verona Arena in Verona on February 22, 2026. It will be called "Beauty in Action." This ceremony will include cultural performances and the official handover to the French Alps, which will host the 2030 Winter Olympics. The famous ballet dancer Roberto Bolle is confirmed to perform at this event.

Countries and Athletes Participating

A total of 92 countries have athletes competing in these Games. The Olympic Committees for Russia and Belarus are currently suspended. However, some athletes from these countries can still compete as "Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN). This means they compete without representing their country. These athletes must be approved by their sport's international group and then by the IOC.

As individual athletes, AIN competitors are not part of a national team during the opening ceremony or in the medal counts. They also cannot compete in team sports like ice hockey. Countries like Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and the United Arab Emirates are expected to make their first appearance at the Winter Olympics.

Number of Athletes by Country

Ranking	NOC	Athletes
1	United States	233
2	Canada	205
3	Italy	196
4	Germany	189
5	Switzerland	175
6	France	162
7	China	126
8	Japan	120
9	Austria	117
10	Czech Republic	115
11	Sweden	110
12	Finland	103
13	Norway	80
14	South Korea	71
15	Latvia	68
16	Poland	60
17	Great Britain	55
18	Australia	54
19	Slovakia	53
20	Ukraine	46
21	Denmark	39
	Netherlands	39
23	Slovenia	37
24	Kazakhstan	36
25	Estonia	32
26	Belgium	30
27	Romania	29
28	Bulgaria	20
	Individual Neutral Athletes	20
	Spain	20
31	Lithuania	17
	New Zealand	17
33	Hungary	15
34	Brazil	14
	Croatia	14
36	Israel	10
37	Chinese Taipei	9
38	Argentina	8
	Georgia	8
	Liechtenstein	8
	Turkey	8
42	Andorra	7
	Jamaica	7
44	Trinidad and Tobago	6
45	Armenia	5
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	5
	Greece	5
	Mexico	5
	Moldova	5
	South Africa	5
51	Albania	4
	Chile	4
	Hong Kong	4
	Iceland	4
	Iran	4
	Ireland	4
	North Macedonia	4
58	Mongolia	3
	Portugal	3
	Serbia	3
	Thailand	3
62	Azerbaijan	2
	Cyprus	2
	Haiti	2
	India	2
	Kenya	2
	Kosovo	2
	Kyrgyzstan	2
	Lebanon	2
	Luxembourg	2
	Madagascar	2
	Montenegro	2
	Morocco	2
	Philippines	2
	Saudi Arabia	2
	United Arab Emirates	2
	Uzbekistan	2
78	Benin	1
	Bolivia	1
	Colombia	1
	Ecuador	1
	Eritrea	1
	Guinea-Bissau	1
	Malaysia	1
	Malta	1
	Monaco	1
	Nigeria	1
	Pakistan	1
	Puerto Rico	1
	San Marino	1
	Singapore	1
	Uruguay	1
	Venezuela	1
Total		2,884

Olympic Schedule

The schedule for the 2026 Winter Olympics was first shared in March 2024. Competitions started on February 4 with curling. Events will continue until February 22, 2026, ending with the men's ice hockey final.

February 2026		4th Wed	5th Thu	6th Fri	7th Sat	8th Sun	9th Mon	10th Tue	11th Wed	12th Thu	13th Fri	14th Sat	15th Sun	16th Mon	17th Tue	18th Wed	19th Thu	20th Fri	21st Sat	22nd Sun	Events
Ceremonies				OC																CC	N/A
Alpine skiing					1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1	1		1					10
Biathlon						1		1	1		1	1	2		1	1		1	1		11
Bobsleigh													●	1	1			●	1	1	4
Cross-country skiing					1	1		2		1	1	1	1			2			1	1	12
Curling		●	●	●	●	●	●	1	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	1	3
Figure skating				●	●	1	●	●	1		1		●	1	●		1		EG		5
Freestyle skiing					●		1	1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1	1	2	3		15
Ice hockey			●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	●	1	●	●	1	2
Luge					●	1	●	1	2	1											5
Nordic combined									1						1		1				3
Short-track speed skating								1		2		1		1		2		2			9
Skeleton										●	1	1	1								3
Ski jumping					1		1	1				1	1	1							6
Ski mountaineering																	2		1		3
Snowboarding			●		1	2	1		●	2	2		1		1	1					11
Speed skating					1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1		2		1	1	2		14
Daily medal events		0	0	0	5	8	5	9	8	9	7	8	9	6	7	8	7	6	10	4	116
Cumulative total		0	0	0	5	13	18	27	35	44	51	59	68	74	81	89	96	102	112	116
February 2026		4th Wed	5th Thu	6th Fri	7th Sat	8th Sun	9th Mon	10th Tue	11th Wed	12th Thu	13th Fri	14th Sat	15th Sun	16th Mon	17th Tue	18th Wed	19th Thu	20th Fri	21st Sat	22nd Sun	Total events

Medal Table

  *   Host nation (Italy)

2026 Winter Olympics medal table

Rank	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Norway	13	8	9	30
2	Italy*	9	4	11	24
3	United States	6	9	5	20
4	Netherlands	6	6	1	13
5	Austria	5	8	3	16
6	France	5	7	4	16
7	Sweden	5	5	2	12
8	Switzerland	5	2	3	10
9	Germany	4	7	6	17
10	Japan	4	5	10	19
11–26	Remaining	16	19	23	58
Totals (26 entries)		78	80	77	235

Countries Winning All Three Medals

Date	Sport	Event	Team	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Ref
10 February	Cross-country skiing	Women's sprint	Sweden	Linn Svahn	Jonna Sundling	Maja Dahlqvist

Brazil and Georgia have already won their first Winter Olympic medals!

Marketing and Identity

The Games have a unique look and feel, from their emblem to their mascots.

The Official Emblem

For the first time ever, the emblem for an Olympic Games was chosen by public vote. Two designs, "Dado" and "Futura," were shown to everyone. On March 30, 2021, "Futura" was announced as the winner. This emblem shows a stylish "26" written in one smooth line. It represents the idea that small actions can have a big impact, and it stands for sport, working together, and caring for the environment.

The Games' Slogan

"IT's Your Vibe"

The official slogan for the Games, "IT's Your Vibe," was announced on February 23, 2025. The "IT" in the slogan refers to Italy. It also sounds like "It's," meaning "It's Your Vibe." This slogan helps connect the Games to their host country.

Meet the Mascots: Tina and Milo

Tina and Milo

The two mascots for the event were chosen through an online vote that ended on February 28, 2023. The winning mascots were designed by students from a school in Taverna. They are inspired by stoats, which are small, quick animals. The mascots were introduced on February 7, 2024, and their names were revealed as Tina and Milo. These names come from the host cities, Milan and Cortina. Tina and Milo are portrayed as sister and brother.

Tina, the main Olympic mascot, is a white stoat. She represents art, music, and the power of beauty. Milo, the Paralympic mascot, is a brown stoat. He was born without a leg but uses his tail to help him live a normal life with cleverness, determination, and creativity. They are joined by six snowdrop flowers called "The Flo."

The Theme Song

The official anthem for the event, "Fino all'alba" ("Until the dawn"), was chosen on March 7, 2022. It was composed by a youth music group called La Cittadina and performed by Arisa.

Visual Art and Posters

The Milano Cortina 2026 Games created two special art poster programs. This continues a tradition of Olympic art posters that started in 1972.

Art Posters

On June 18, 2025, ten works by young Italian artists were chosen for the Art Posters program. Five posters were made for the Olympic Games and five for the Paralympic Games. These posters showcase new artistic talent.

Iconic Posters

Two official Iconic Posters were revealed on October 22, 2025. Olimpia Zagnoli's Olympic poster, Visione Olimpica (Olympic Vision), shows a figure wearing the Olympic rings as glasses. It has a background of snowy mountains, combining Milan's design culture with Cortina's alpine setting. Carolina Altavilla's Paralympic poster shows all six Paralympic winter sports with the Dolomites mountains and Milan's Duomo in the background. These posters are currently on display in an exhibition.

Watching the Games

In Italy, you can watch the Games on pay-TV through Warner Bros. Discovery. Free-to-air coverage and online streaming are available through Italy's public broadcaster RAI. Other European countries also have access to the Games through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports and their local public broadcasters.

Images for kids

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  The half-pipe at Livigno Snow Park

See also

In Spanish: Juegos Olímpicos de Milán-Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 para niños