The new ice hockey arena in Milan and the new ice skating rink in Cortina have been completed and opened – on schedule, after all. This means that the 25th Winter Olympic Games (WOI) can now officially begin.
Cortina d'Ampezzo is hosting the Olympic Games for the second time: in 1956, 70 years ago, the seventh Olympiad in a row was held in this winter sports center in the Dolomites in Italy.
Key facts about the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Winter Olympics officially open this Friday, February 6, 2026, at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan, better known as San Siro. It is the traditional home stadium of football clubs Inter and AC Milan and has a capacity of 75.000 spectators.
The first competitions, the curling ones, started two days ago – on February 4th.
Around 2.900 athletes (47 percent of them women) from more than 90 countries will compete for 116 gold, silver and bronze medals. Germany is represented by 188 athletes, the largest number ever at the Winter Olympics.
For the first time, ski mountaineering will be included in an Olympic Games. This type of competition is usually held on circular tracks. Athletes first climb a slope with skis strapped to their backs, then descend from the top on them.
In addition to Milan and Cortina, the competitions will be held in several other famous winter sports centers.
• Milan (ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating and short track speed skating)
• Cortina d'Ampezzo (women's alpine skiing, luge, bobsleigh, skeleton and curling)
• Anterselva (biathlon)
• Val di Fiemme (ski jumping, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing)
• Livigno (freestyle skiing, snowboarding)
• Bormio (men's alpine skiing, ski mountaineering)
It should be noted that the distances between locations are quite large: Milan and Anterselva are, for example, 350 kilometers apart.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will conclude on February 22 with a closing ceremony in Verona's ancient arena, which holds more than 12.000 spectators.
Are Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete?
As with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, only individual athletes are allowed to participate – and even then, only if they have no ties to the military or security services of those countries and have not publicly supported Russia’s war in Ukraine. Only then are they considered “neutral.” In addition, they must all qualify for the Olympics in their respective disciplines. A three-member commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) then gives them final approval to compete.
According to IOC information (as of 29 January 2026), 13 athletes from Russia and seven from Belarus are expected to participate. At the Summer Olympics in Paris, there were 15 athletes from Russia and 17 from Belarus who were granted permission to compete as neutral athletes.
In December, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) overturned the exclusion of “neutral” Russian and Belarusian skiers from Olympic qualifications.
At the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, 216 Russian athletes were allowed to compete only under a neutral flag. Back then, it was for a completely different reason – because of the revelation of Russia’s state-sponsored doping system. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022 – four days after the end of the Beijing Games.
Who will take care of security during the Games?
According to the IOC, security is “the responsibility of the host country authorities, who work closely with the delegations of participating countries.” Some 6.000 police and other personnel are expected to be deployed. By comparison, more than 50.000 people were deployed to provide security at the Paris Games.
The world public has been excited by media reports that members of the controversial US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will also be sent to the Olympics to ensure the security of US guests of honor. Namely, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have already announced their presence. President Donald Trump has not yet confirmed his arrival.
The US Ambassador to Italy, Tilman J. Fertitta, stated, however, that the engagement of ICE officers will be "exclusively advisory and intelligence in nature, without conducting patrols or implementing other legal measures."
How are doping controls carried out?
As in Beijing 2022, the IOC has hired the International Testing Agency (ITA), based in Switzerland, to conduct doping tests in most sports. Pre-Olympic controls began in late October, and around 3.000 more tests are planned for the Games in Milan and Cortina. For the first time, baggage checks will be carried out at airports to seize suspicious substances.
However, the international federations for skiing, biathlon, ice hockey and curling do not cooperate with the ITA, but independently organize doping controls for their disciplines.
Urine and blood samples are kept for up to ten years so that potential doping violators can be identified later, if they have used previously unknown substances. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will also be present on site during the Games to be able to make swift decisions on doping violations.
Will the Games in Milan and Cortina be successful?
The success of the Games depends on many factors – for example, the atmosphere. According to the Organizing Committee, more than half of the tickets have been sold by the beginning of November 2025. Ticket prices range from 30 to as much as 2.900 euros, which is the most expensive ticket for the closing ceremony in Verona.
For particularly popular disciplines, such as alpine skiing, only the more expensive tickets remain – or so-called hospitality packages, which cost up to 3.500 euros and are a combination of tickets, catering services and other benefits.
It remains to be seen what the financial balance of the Games will be. The budget for the Olympic Games, as well as the Paralympic Games that will follow immediately, is around 1,6 billion euros.
According to official figures, the Beijing Olympics ultimately cost $3,9 billion, but a study by researchers at Oxford University came up with a figure of $8,7 billion, more than double the official figure.
Bonus video:
