Džes Anderson
BBC Sport, Curtain of Ampeco
Around 2.900 athletes from more than 90 countries will compete on ice and snow at the 2026 Winter Olympics, hosted by Italy, specifically Milan.
The world's biggest winter sports stars will compete for 116 gold medals in northern Italy from Friday, February 6, and there is sure to be excitement, drama and stunning performances.
From the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenija has always had the most success, skiing is a way of life there.
At the Winter Olympics in Italy, Slovenia will have a total of 37 athletes in six disciplines.
The most is expected from Domen Prevac, currently the best ski jumper in the world.
Croatia is the second largest Olympic team from the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
There will be 14 athletes in Italy in four disciplines, with Zrinka Ljutić as the hopeful in alpine skiing.
Bosnia and Herzegovina will be represented by five athletes: alpine skiers Elvedina Muzaferija, Marko Šljivić and Esma Alić, as well as Nordic skiers Strahinja Erić and Teodora Dalipara.
Olympic team North Macedonia consists of four athletes: Jana Atanasovska (alpine skiing), Viktor Petkov (alpine skiing), Stavre Jada (Nordic skiing) and Ana Cvetanovska (Nordic skiing).
Serbia, which has no tradition in winter sports, will have three representatives at the Winter Olympics in Italy: Anja Ilić and Miloš Milosavljević (Nordic skiing), and Miloš Tomović (Alpine skiing).
Montenegro will have two representatives: Branislav Peković (alpine skiing) Aleksandar Grbović (Nordic skiing).
Kosovo, whose independence Serbia does not recognize, will also have two representatives, both in alpine skiing: Kijana Krieziu and Drin Kokaj.
The 25th Winter Olympic Games will officially begin with the opening ceremony at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, and will end with the traditional lighting of the Olympic Flame - one in Milan and one in Cortina.
American pop singer Mariah Carey and Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli are confirmed performers, but there are likely to be a few surprises.
BBC Sport presents some of the world's stars and stories to watch out for.
Lindsey Vonn (alpine skiing)
Years: 41; Earth: SAD
Just days before the women's downhill competition on the Cortina d'Ampezzo course, Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn announced that she had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, but that she still hoped to be able to participate.
Vonn was airlifted to a hospital in Switzerland after a crash in the final World Cup race of the season, but remains determined to compete in her fifth Olympic Games, despite her serious injury.
It wouldn't be the first time this ski veteran has returned to the slopes after a serious injury.
In 2019, she announced her retirement from competition due to injury, and subsequently underwent partial right knee replacement surgery.
Then in 2024, she returned to the track.
The four-time World Cup winner is unsure whether she will be able to compete in the super-G and team events, but, as a heavy favorite for gold in the downhill before her injury, she is determined to step out to the starting gate at what will likely be her last Olympics.
Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing)
Years: 30; Earth: SAD
Mikaela Shiffrin is the best alpine skier of all time and this will be her fourth Olympic Games.
After the disappointment at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and problems with injuries and mental health, he sees the upcoming Games as a new opportunity to make history.
The five-time World Cup winner has 108 World Cup victories, securing victory in the first five slalom events of the season, which, when added to her victory in the final slalom last season, equaled her own record of six consecutive victories in the event.
But the two-time Olympic champion is aiming for a return to the podium in Cortina, while her fiancé Alexander Amod Kilde is also on his way back from a serious injury.
Maksim Naumov (figure skating)
Years: 24; Earth: SAD
The participation of American skater Maxim Naumov could be very emotional as he is making his Olympic debut after his parents were killed in a plane crash in Washington last year.
His dream of being part of Team USA was one of the last things he discussed with his parents before they died.
His parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgeniya Shishkova, skated for Russia and were world pair figure skating champions in 1994.
Emily Harop (skimo or Nordic climbing)
Years: 28; Earth: France
At the Winter Olympics in Italy we will watch a new sport - skimo or Nordic climbing or ski climbing on the mountain.
France's Emily Harop is one of the favorites for gold.
Harrop, whose parents are British, could have competed for the Great Britain team, but after moving to the French Alps as a child, she decided to represent France.
Harrop is in good position for an Olympic medal, having finished the 2025 season with seven wins in seven Ski Mountaineering World Cup races, winning the overall crystal globe for the fourth season in a row.
Juta Lerdam (speed skating)
Years: 28; Earth: Netherlands
Dutch speed skater Juta Leerdam will compete in the 1.000-meter and 500-meter races in Milan.
A former world sprint champion, Leerdam won a silver medal in the 1.000-meter race at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
She is engaged to Jake Paul, a YouTuber turned boxer, and he regularly cheers her on at competitions.
Finley Melville Ives (freestyle skiing)
Years: 19; Earth: New Zealand
Teenager Finley Melville Ives arrives in Italy as one of the stars of freestyle skiing.
Ives' parents are snowboard instructors, and his twin brother followed in their footsteps.
However, Ives chose to ski from a young age.
Last year, he broke through to the very top of the sport, achieving his first World Cup victory in Calgary.
A few weeks later, he became the world halfpipe champion in Engadine, Switzerland, defeating Olympic greats Alex Ferreira and Nick Goepper.
Eileen Gu (freestyle skiing)
Years: 22; Earth: China
Born and raised in California, freestyle skier Eileen Gu was the face of China for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Then, at the age of 18, she won gold in big air and freestyle halfpipe, and silver in slopestyle.
In addition to her Olympic triumphs, she is also a two-time world champion and a three-time Winter X Games champion.
In addition to snow, where she has great success, Gu is also a model.
She appeared at shows in New York, Barcelona, Paris and at Milan Fashion Week.
Not only that, she is also studying quantum physics at Stanford University.
NHL stars (ice hockey)
For the first time since the 2014 IHGAR in Sochi, Russia, the American professional National Hockey League (NHL) has allowed players to participate in the Winter Olympics.
NHL players were not at the 2018 or 2022 Games due to financial disputes and complications related to the coronavirus pandemic.
In their absence, the last two titles in the men's competition were won by Olympic teams from Russia and Finland, while the United States failed to medal in either event.
However, the return of NHL stars could be a strong tailwind for the Americans and their quest to return to the podium.
Chloe Kim (snowboarding)
Years: 25; Earth: SAD
Eight years after winning gold as a 17-year-old in Pyeongchang, American halfpipe snowboarder Chloe Kim is preparing for a triple triumph in Italy.
She successfully defended her title in Beijing four years ago, but her preparations for these Winter Olympics were hampered by a dislocated shoulder at the beginning of the year.
In an Instagram post, she said she was "ready" for the Games in Italy, and she wants to become the first woman to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in halfpipe.
Francesco Fridrih (two-seater and four-seater bobsleigh)
Years: 35; Earth: Germany
Legendary German bobsledder Francesco Friedrich arrives in Italy hoping to become the first man to achieve a triple-double - gold in the two-seater and four-seater at a third consecutive Games.
He is a sixteen-time world champion in two-seater and four-seater, and has achieved more than 100 places on the World Cup podium.
Earlier this year, he recorded his 50th victory in a two-seater.
Germany usually dominates Olympic bobsleigh competitions and the question is whether anyone can stop them from making history.
Arijana Fontana (speed skating)
Years: 35; Earth: Italy
For Arijana Fontana, this will be the sixth Olympic Games in her career.
She has won 11 medals at the Olympic Games so far and is a two-time Olympic champion.
She won medals at all five previous Games, and she did so as a fifteen-year-old in Turin.
Twenty years later, the short track skater also intends to compete in long track speed skating.
Lukas Pinjeiro Braten (alpine skiing)
Years: 25; Earth: Brazil
Norwegian-born skier Lukas Pinheiro Braten could make history in Italy by winning the first Winter Olympic medal for a South American country.
He decided to change the country he plays for - he now represents his mother's country, Brazil.
The slalom and giant slalom specialist retired in 2023 after competing for Norway, but returned in 2025 to represent Brazil.
He became the first Brazilian to finish on the World Cup podium last year, before claiming Brazil's first win of the season.
He achieved his previous five World Cup victories while playing for Norway.
The charismatic Bratten says people don't believe him when he tells them he represents Brazil in alpine skiing.
Adeliya Petrosyan (figure skating)
Years: 18; Earth: Russia, but competes as an independent athlete
Russian figure skater Adeliya Petrosyan is one of about 20 Russian or Belarusian athletes competing under a neutral flag in Italy.
The teenager did not compete at the international senior level until the Olympic qualifiers due to the ban on Russian athletes, but is one of the favorites to medal after winning the qualifiers.
Her coach is the controversial Eteri Tutberidze, who coached Kamila Valieva during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Valieva was handed a four-year suspension for doping after helping Russia win team gold.
It was then discovered that she had tested positive for doping before participating in those Games.
The Russian team was demoted from gold to bronze medal, leading Canada, who finished in fourth place, to be angry that the Russians were not disqualified.
Russia is currently not allowed to compete in team events, so it will not participate in this competition, which includes all four figure skating disciplines - men's and women's singles and the dance competition.
Ilya Malinjin (figure skating)
Years: 21; Earth: SAD
Ilija Malinjin is the only skater to successfully perform a quadruple Axel, the most difficult jump in skating, in competition, earning him the nickname "The God of Quadruple Skaters".
The American, whose parents are Olympic skaters Tatyana Malinina and Roman Skornyakov, is the main favorite for the men's singles title in Italy.
The reigning world champion will compete in his first Olympic Games after being controversially left out of the US team for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Domen Prevc (ski jumping)
Years: 26; Earth: Slovenia
At the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, we can expect excitement in ski jumping, both in individual and team competitions.
Currently, Slovenian Domen Prevc dominates the individual competition.
Prevc became the new world champion in ski flying in January, winning 59,5 points more than second-place Norwegian Marius Lindvik at the ski flying course in the German city of Oberstdorf.
Prevc now holds the world championship titles on the flying hill and the ski jumping hill, is the current winner of the New Year's Tour, winner of the Small Crystal Globe for the best flyer, and holds the world record for the longest flight - 254,5 meters.
Twenty-six-year-old Domen Prevc became the third Slovenian to win a world title, after Robert Kranjec won gold medals in 2012 in Vikersund, Norway, and his older brother Peter in 2016 in Bad Mitterndorf, Austria.
In the team competition, the Slovenians will have big rivals in the Japanese, Austrians and Norwegians.
Domen and his sister, Nika Prevc, will be Slovenian flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 25th Winter Olympic Games, announcede Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS).
This season, Domen and Nika Prevc dominated World Cup competitions, achieving a combined 24 victories, of which Nika 13 and Domen 11, and are the biggest Slovenian candidates for medals.
Nika will make her Winter Olympic debut on Saturday, February 7, when the ski jumping competition on the small hill is scheduled, and Domen will be in action two days later, also on the small hill.
On Tuesday, February 10, a mixed team competition is scheduled, in which Nika and Domen are expected to compete together, and individual competitions on the large ski jump will be held on February 14th and 15th.
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