🎿 2026 Winter Olympics: the complete guide (dates, venues, sports, Swiss athletes, tickets, TV)

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The 2026 Winter Olympics will be a historic event: for the first time, they will be held in two major Italian regions, between Milan And Cortina d'Ampezzo. Of February 6-22, 2026, The world's best athletes will compete in 16 winter disciplines, including alpine skiing, ice hockey, biathlon and snowboarding.

For Switzerland, a leading nation in winter sports, these Olympics will have a special flavor: geographical proximity, great chances of medals, and a golden generation ready to make history.

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📅 Official dates for the 2026 Olympic Games

Event	Date
Opening ceremony	February 6, 2026 – Milan
Official competitions	February 7-22, 2026
Closing ceremony	February 22, 2026 – Verona Arena

The first events (alpine skiing, curling, hockey) will even start before the ceremony, as is now the tradition.

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📍 Competition venues and sites

The 2026 Olympics are divided into 4 competition hubs :

Area	Sports
Milan	Hockey, figure skating, short track
Cortina d'Ampezzo	Alpine skiing, curling, bobsleigh, luge
Val di Fiemme	Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping
Livigno	Snowboard, freestyle

✔️ No large, entirely new sites → “sustainability” objective”
✔️ Return of Cortina, already a host in 1956
✔️ First closing ceremony in a Roman amphitheater (Verona)

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🥇 Swiss athletes to watch

Switzerland aims for a medal record, driven by an exceptional generation of athletes.

Discipline	Swiss athletes expected
Alpine skiing	Marco Odermatt, Lara Gut-Behrami, Wendy Holdener, Camille Rast, Franjo Von Almen, Alexis Monney
Freestyle skiing	Mathilde Gremaud, Andri Ragettli
Ice hockey	Men's & Women's National Team
Snowboard	Jan Scherrer, Sina Siegenthaler
Biathlon	Niklas Hartweg, Lena Häcki-Groß
Cross-country skiing	Nadine Fähndrich

➡️ Swiss Olympic objective: 15 to 20 medals

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🏂 Sports disciplines and new developments

16 sports – 116 events – 3 new disciplines:

• Combined Alpine Skiing by Mixed Team
• Mixed skeleton
• Team Snowboard Slopestyle

💡 Mixed doubles curling and women's hockey are gaining television visibility.

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🎟 Tickets and access for spectators

✅ Official worldwide sales opening in 2025
✅ Simplified transport between Milan – Cortina – Dolomites
✅ “Sport + Ski + Accommodation” packages expected

For Swiss fans:

• Accessible by train to Milan
• Then official shuttles to the stations

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📺 Where to watch the 2026 Olympics in Switzerland?

Platform	Broadcast
RTS	Free in plain language
SRF / RSI	Alemannic & Ticino versions
Eurosport	Complete set of tests
Streaming	RTS Play, Eurosport Player, Discovery+

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🔥 Key issues at stake in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games

• Last edition before the 2030 Olympic revolution (AI + carbon neutrality)
• Energy transition: “low-cost” Olympics vs. past megaprojects
• The rivalry between Switzerland 🇨🇭 and Austria 🇦🇹 returns in alpine skiing
• The place of women's sports is growing rapidly.
• Pressure on natural ice (storms + warming)

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🚅 Practical guide for Swiss travelers (travel & budget)

From	Ideal transport	Duration
Lausanne / Geneva	Lyria train + Frecciarossa	5:30
Zurich	Direct train Zurich – Milan	3:30
Lugano	1 hour 40 minutes by train
By car	Via Simplon, San Bernardino or Gotthard

Average budget for 3 days (spectator):

• Tickets: 100–250 CHF / day
• Accommodation: 120–300 CHF / night
• Transportation: 70–150 CHF round trip

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🏔 2026 Olympics & Switzerland: proximity, fervor, medals?

For Swiss fans, this will be the most accessible winter event since Turin 2006. Switzerland intends to write new legendary pages there, after the exploits of Kernen, Gut-Behrami or Gremaud.

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🏁 Event at the beginning of the year to be followed by the World Cup

THE 2026 Olympics They are shaping up to be a major sporting, cultural and emotional event, particularly for Switzerland. Geographically close, rich in medal hopes, and more sustainable than previous editions: everything indicates that Milan-Cortina 2026 will mark the history of the Winter Games.

📌 Suisse-blog.ch will be following the event before, during and after competitions :
→ Competition schedule
→ Live results for the Swiss
→ Medal analysis
→ Travel and ticket guides
→ On-site reports