Login
When is the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics 2026 and how you can watch
The 2026 Winter Olympics will officially get underway with a landmark Opening Ceremony to launch the Milano Cortina Games.
Fans around the world will be tuning in, and key details around the date, location, and broadcast options are now confirmed.
Here is everything you need to know about when the ceremony takes place and how you can watch it live.
Event information
The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy.
San Siro, one of Europeβs most iconic football venues, has a capacity of around 75,800 and will provide the main stage for the ceremony, even though Milan and Cortina dβAmpezzo are jointly hosting the Games.
The ceremony is scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2026.
Start times for the Opening Ceremony are listed below.
- Local time (Italy, Central European Time): 8:00 pm
- United States Eastern Standard Time: 2:00 pm
- Greenwich Mean Time: 7:00 pm
Although competition at the Winter Olympics begins two days earlier, the Opening Ceremony will mark the official start of the Games.
How to watch
The Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live across multiple platforms, depending on your location.
- United States: NBC (TV), Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com (streaming).
- United Kingdom: BBC, TNT Sports, BBC, Discovery+ (streaming).
- Australia: Nine Network (TV), 9Now, and Stan Sport (streaming).
Coverage options and replay availability may vary by territory, but the Opening Ceremony will be widely accessible through television and streaming services worldwide.
Read more:
