The 2026 Winter Olympics officially kick off on Friday, with the opening ceremonies set to start in northern Italy at 2:00 p.m. ET. This is the first time in Olympic history that two cities have been officially named as co-hosts: Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place on Feb. 6 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and it will be the first time the Games will be jointly hosted.

Because the 2026 Winter Games are so spread out, athletes will march in Milan and several other locations. By Victor Mather At the Winter Olympics opening ceremonies on Friday, athletes will march in the traditional Parade of Nations at the San Siro stadium in Milan.

The rapper brought signature energy to the historic tradition as anticipation builds for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Legendary rapper Snoop

The Milan Olympic Village is buzzing with activity as athletes settle in for the Winter Games. Teams from around the world are arriving with gear, decorating their rooms with national flags, and enjoying the facilities.

Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner won mixed doubles in 2022, giving Italy its first Olympic curling championship. Constantini is from Cortina, so she and Mosaner will draw huge crowds as they try to win gold at home.

The Games in northern Italy, which start on Friday, will be spread across 8,500 square miles. Long distances, narrow roads, complex connections and snowfall will make it a logistical nightmare.

The IOC showed no interest Wednesday in putting pressure on 2028 Los Angeles Olympics chair Casey Wasserman over personal emails released in the latest Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Wednesday night lighting hiccup — with some of the lights going out — happened five minutes into the action during one of the first competitions of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics almost underway, here’s exactly where the Games are being held and why they’re spread across numerous cities in Italy.