Let the Games begin!
The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games takes place Friday, with several highly anticipated events and performances.
This ceremony will look different from any other history.
Here’s what to know:
What time is the Opening Ceremony?
The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. CT on Friday, Feb. 6, at San Sire Olympic Stadium, but coverage of the event will start slightly earlier.
Organizers said they expect the ceremony to last approximately three hours, about the same as previous opening ceremonies.
Where can you watch the Opening Ceremony?
Live
NBC will air the Opening Ceremony live and it will be streamed live on Peacock, NBC Chicago’s streaming channel and NBC Olympics platforms.
Live coverage of the Opening Ceremony will start at 12:40 p.m. CT, 20 minutes ahead of the ceremony’s official start.
WATCH LIVE: Opening Ceremony
NBC Sports commentators Terry Gannon and Mary Carillo will host coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympics Opening Ceremony after TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie had to step aside with her mother missing.
Gannon and Carillo will be joined by American Winter Olympic icon Shaun White, who is on his first Opening Ceremony assignment after contributing to NBC Olympics’ coverage during the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio Olympics.
Mike Tirico will contribute to Opening Ceremony coverage from 6,000 miles away, as he will be preparing to call Super Bowl LX for NBC on Sunday, Feb. 8, from Santa Clara, California, as part of the network’s “Legendary February.”
Primetime
Anyone who misses the live coverage will have a second chance to watch it in primetime on NBC when it re-airs at 7 p.m. CT.
The primetime coverage will have a greater focus on Team USA athletes.
PRIMTIME STREAM: Opening Ceremony
See the full TV schedule below:
What happens during the Opening Ceremony?
Several traditional Olympic events take place throughout the three-hour Opening Ceremony.
Among the events is the Parade of Nations, during which athletes from more than 90 countries will walk alongside their flag. A look at the order that countries will march in is available here.
Also during the Opening Ceremony is the raising of the host nation’s flag and singing of the host nation’s national anthem, and a variety of performances.
Who is performing?
Some big names are on the lineup of performances slated to take place during the ceremony.
Here’s a look at some of the list of confirmed performers:
Mariah Carey Italian actor Sabrina Impacciatore (from Season two of HBO’s “The White Lotus”) Italian actor Matilde De Angelis (from the Netflix series “The Law According to Lydia Poet”) Tenor Andrea Bocelli Golden Globe winner Laura Pausini Award-winning actor and producer Pierfrancesco FavinoWhen did the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics start? And when do they end?
Though the Opening Ceremony marks the official start of the 2026 games, competition has already been underway.
Sports like alpine skiing, curling, ice hockey, figure skating, snowboarding and more have already started, with action expected to heat up heading into the weekend.
The 2026 games continue until the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 22.
What is different about this Opening Ceremony?
The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics will do something that has never been done before.
“For the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, two cauldrons (in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo) will be lit and extinguished simultaneously in two different locations,” organizers said in a statement.
The cauldrons will pay homage to Leonardo da Vinci.
One cauldron will be in Milan at the city’s Arco della Pace, while the second will be in Piazza Dibona in Cortina.
They will be lit simultaneously during the Opening Ceremony and extinguished on Sunday, Feb. 22.
What is the order of the Parade of Nations?
Greece, the nation where the Olympics originated thousands of years ago and where the first modern Games took place in 1896, marches first. The host country marches last, which means this year that will be Italy.
Future Olympic host countries move to the end of the order to add prominence to their march.
Just before Italy will be France, hosts of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps.
The United States will go before France, as Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
The countries in between are arranged in alphabetical order. But remember, that’s alphabetical order in the language of the host country.
Russians and Belarusians cannot take part in the Opening Ceremony’s parade of athletes as they are competing as neutral athletes, or AIN.
What is the theme of the Opening Ceremony?
According to NBC Olympics, the theme for the big event will be “Armonia,” or harmony in Italian.
Where is the Opening Ceremony?
The Olympics Opening Ceremony will be held at Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium. The stadium was built nearly 100 years ago and is home to two of Italy’s premier soccer clubs, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan.
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