MILAN — The opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina is tonight, marking the official start of these Games.
This year’s ceremony will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, a 100-year-old venue that will now play host to the likes of Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and the parade of nations featuring athletes from more than 90 countries around the world. Officials previously announced an inclusive theme featuring a show inside the stadium as well as ‘satellite events’ in Olympic territories. The festivities will stretch across the clusters of the Milano Cortina Games, including satellite ceremonies in Livigno and Predazzo.
USA TODAY Sports is on the ground across Northern Italy to bring you live updates from the night. Follow along.
What time is the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
The Milano Cortina opening ceremony starts at 2 p.m. ET.
Where to watch Olympics opening ceremony?
NBC is broadcasting the opening ceremony, and Peacock is live streaming it.
Steam Olympics on Peacock
Lighting Olympic cauldrons
Two Olympic cauldrons will be lit for the first time in Olympic history, one in Milan and one in mountain town Cortina d’Ampezzo, where alpine skiing and other snow events are being held. The cauldrons will be lit at the same time and were designed to emulate Leonardo da Vinci’s knot engravings, according to Olympic officials. da Vinci lived in Milan for 17 years of his renowned life.
Where are Winter Olympics 2026?
The Winter Olympics always sprawl, because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.
2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today
Peacock is streaming every event live today.
Steam Olympics on Peacock
Iconic Tongan Olympian to carry flag once again at Milano Cortina Games
In an Olympic tradition quite unlike any other, Pita Taufatofua of Tonga will once again carry his country’s flag during the opening ceremony for the Milano Cortina Winter Games. And you can bet he won’t be wearing a shirt again either.
US flag bearers for opening ceremony
Olympic speedskating champion Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca have been selected as the flag bearers for Team USA’s delegation at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Jackson, who won gold in the women’s 500 meters in Beijing in 2022, will be back to defend her title and compete in the 1,000 meters as well. This will mark her third Olympic appearance.
‘It’ll definitely give me a lot of motivation, because just walking out into opening ceremonies even without carrying the flag, it’s this amazing feeling of like, ‘OK, we’re here. We’re at the Olympics. We’re surrounded by all these amazing people who have worked so hard to get to this point,” Jackson said Wednesday. ‘Just even being in the opening ceremonies, that’s just like the start of the games, but it’s always just kind of like a breathtaking feeling. I think carrying the flag is just going to add to that, and I’m really looking forward to it.’
Del Duca – a sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed in Lake Placid, New York – made his Olympic Winter Games debut in Beijing, and has been in the sport for over a decade. He is part of the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).