Image courtesy of Milano Cortina 2026
2026 Winter Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympics, officially known as Milano Cortina 2026, are scheduled to kick off Friday, Feb. 6 and will continue through Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, marking the first time the Games are officially co-hosted by two cities — Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
You can watch the Olympics on NBC, USA Network, CNBC and Peacock. Due to a six-hour time difference (ET to Italy), major events air live in the morning, with daily primetime coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.
Key 2026 Winter Olympics Viewing Info
- Opening Ceremony: Live Friday, Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
- Live Coverage: NBC offers five hours of daily live daytime coverage, often featuring top events, with additional coverage on USA Network and CNBC.
- Streaming: Peacock offers live streaming of all 116 medal events, including full event replays.
Major Events (ET)
- Figure Skating (Team Event): Friday, Feb 6–Saturday, Feb. 7 (Various, Morning ET).
- Women's Hockey (USA): Monday, Feb 9 (2:40 p.m.), Tuesday, Feb 10 (2:10 p.m.).
- Freeski Slopestyle: Monday, Feb 9 (Women's Final, 6:30 a.m.), Tuesday, Feb 10 (Men's Final, 6:30 a.m.).
- Speed Skating: Saturday, Feb 7–Saturday, Feb. 21.
Northern Virginia residents will be cheering on several athletes from the area, including:
Photo courtesy of Team USA
Figure skater Ilia Malinin
Figure Skating
- Vienna-based figure skater Ilia Malinin, 21, (nickname: “QuadGod”) a reigning world champion known for landing the first quadruple axel in competition, competing in his first Olympics.
- He graduated from George C. Marshall High school in Falls Church in 2023. He is currently a student at George Mason University and trains at SkateQuest in Reston.
Skeleton Racing
- Nokesville skeleton racer Mystique Ro, 31, a former track athlete who transitioned to skeleton, winning a 2025 World Championship silver medal before debuting in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Mystiq
Photo courtesy of Team USA
Olympic athlete Mystique Ro
- ue is a 2012 graduate of Brentsville District High School in Nokesville, where she competed in track and field.
- She is the second-eldest of 11 children including her twin sister Melody. She attended Queens University of Charlotte and would like to open an animal sanctuary some day.
Speedskating/Short Track Speedskating
- Fairfax speedskater/short track speedster
Photo courtesy of U.S. Speedskating
Brandon Kim
- Brandon Kim, 24: Currently attends Stanford University, and upon graduation plans to attend med school, specializing in orthopedics, like his dad, or neurosurgery.
- He is a graduate of the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Class of 2020) in Falls Church.
Also be on the lookout for:
- Haymarket resident Sarah Everhardt, 19, a 2025 graduate of Battlefield High School, is named as a second alternate in the 2026 Winter Olympics. She started out in swimming and
Photo courtesy of Sarah Everhardt
Figure skater Sarah Everhardt
- gymnastics before switching to figure skating. She plans to attend American University after graduating from high school.
- And in March be sure to tune in for the Paralympian Winter Games, when sled hockey player Evan Nichols, 21 of Haymarket who will be playing alongside 13 teammates as part of the 2026 United States Paralympic Sled Hockey Team. He is a graduate of Battlefield High School. The gold medalist (in 2022, he and his then-teammates won Gold at the Paralympian Winter Games) was the youngest member of the 2022 team. He was 17.
Photo courtesy of USOPC
Athlete Evan Nichols
The Opening Ceremony, titled "Armonia" (Harmony), will take place at the San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday, Feb. 6, while the Closing Ceremony will be held at the historic Verona Arena.
This widespread event will utilize 15 venues across northern Italy, including the mountain clusters of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme.
Athletes from 93 nations are expected to compete for 116 gold medals, and for the first time since 2014, the NHL has agreed to allow its players to participate in the men's ice hockey tournament.
The 2026 program features the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering (also known as “skimo”), which includes men's and women's sprints and a mixed-gender relay. To promote gender equality, several other new events have been added, such as women’s doubles in luge, women’s large hill ski jumping and mixed team skeleton. The Games' official mascots are two stoat siblings, Tina (Olympic) and Milo (Paralympic), whose names are diminutives of the host cities.
