The countdown towards Milano Cortina 2026 begins
The greatest winter sports showpiece on earth will next move to Alpine nation Italy where Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo will play host from 6 to 22 February 2026.
Milano Cortina 2026 will see the showpiece return to one of the heartlands of winter sports with the vision to leave a lasting legacy and deliver sustainable Games on an economic, environmental, and social level.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will see ski mountaineering added to the programme of sports that thrilled global fans in Beijing 2022.
Italy, the homeland of global superstars such as Sofia Goggia, Arianna Fontana, Federica Brignone and Armin Zoeggeler, is set to deliver another spectacle for the ages.
Milano Cortina 2026 will mark the third time Italy will host the Olympic Winter Games after Cortina 1956 and Turin 2006.
Three regions, one Games
The return of the Olympic Winter Games to Italy, 70 years after Cortina 1956 and two decades after Turin 2006, will see two cities play host to the spectacle. Milan, the economic and fashion capital, and the ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The Games will be staged across three regions, including Cortina nestled in the heart of the Dolomite Alps and Milan in the northern Lombardy region. The 14 venues will be spread across 22 square km from Lombardy to the Veneto regions through the provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
Most indoor competitions will be held in the Milan cluster, while the outdoor events will take place in the Cortina cluster.
The Games will see around 3,500 athletes from 93 countries competed for medals with two million spectators expected at the competition venues.
The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games will be staged at the San Siro stadium in Milan on 6 February 2026, while the Closing Ceremony is set for the Verona Arena on 22 February.
Welcoming a new sport to the family
The sports programme will be expanded in Milano Cortina 2026, with ski mountaineering making its debut at the Olympic Winter Games.
Ski mountaineering will be added to the seven sports that formed part of the action in Beijing 2022. The sport combines ascents and descents of mountain trails on or while carrying skis.
Medals will be awarded in men's and women's sprint and individual events and a mixed-gender relay. The same five events were featured at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne, the first time ski mountaineering appeared at an IOC event.
The other disciplines that will be showcased in Milano Cortina 2026 are Alpine skiing, ice hockey, freestyle skiing, speed and short track skating, cross-country skiing, figure skating, snowboard, bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, ski jumping, curling, biathlon competitions, and Nordic combined.
A logo by popular vote
Futura, the official emblem of the Milano Cortina 2026, was the first Olympic logo to be chosen by a popular vote.
The logo captured 74 percent of the 871,000 votes from 169 countries on the Milano Cortina 2026 website and was revealed in an online live stream announcement.
The Futura emblem traces a single ice-white line of the number 26, reflecting Milano Cortina 2026’s ambition to place sustainability and legacy at its core. This builds on its commitment to use, for the greater part, temporary and existing venues and infrastructure; its aim of delivering carbon-neutral Games; and its ambition to boost economic development across Northern Italy.
"Think of the gesture of a child. A simple, spontaneous gesture that comes to life on a misted glass, revealing what is beneath and tracing the number 26 on the surface," Milano Cortina 2026 explained.
The words "Milano Cortina 2026" and the Olympic Rings or Paralympic Agitos (as appropriate) complete the emblem at the bottom.