Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: Essential Guide for Australian Audiences
The countdown to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is well underway, with preparations reaching their final stages across northern Italy. As Australian fans prepare to follow the action from the other side of the world, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming Games.
When Do the Winter Olympics Begin and End?
The 2026 Winter Olympics officially commence with the opening ceremony during the early hours of Friday, 7 February Australian Eastern Daylight Time. This spectacular event will unfold at Milan's iconic San Siro stadium, marking the formal start of the Games. The Olympic fortnight concludes with the closing ceremony on 23 February in Verona, scheduled for 6am AEDT.
Several sports will actually begin competition before the official opening ceremony, with curling and ice hockey events starting a couple of days earlier. Unfortunately for Australian fans, the national mixed curling team narrowly missed qualification despite being ranked number one in December last year. Australia will also be absent from the ice hockey competitions in Italy.
The ice hockey tournament will provide a dramatic conclusion to the Games, with the men's gold-medal final scheduled for 12.10am AEDT on 23 February.
Where Are the 2026 Winter Olympics Taking Place?
These Games represent a truly distributed event across northern Italy, with competitions spread across multiple locations including Anterselva, Bormio, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, Milano, Predazzo, Tesero and Verona. Athletes will be accommodated across six different villages depending on their competition venues.
This marks Italy's third time hosting the Winter Olympics, following previous editions in Turin (2006) and Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956). The distributed nature of these Games reflects modern Olympic hosting strategies that utilise existing infrastructure across regions.
How Can Australian Viewers Watch the Games?
Australian audiences have several options for following the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics:
- The Guardian will provide extensive live blogging coverage for 12 hours daily throughout the Games
- Traditional television coverage will be available on the Nine Network
- Streaming options include Nine Now and Stan Sport
With northern Italy being 10 hours behind AEDT, the daily competition schedule typically begins around 9am local time, which translates to 7pm AEDT for Australian viewers. The Guardian will also offer a daily briefing newsletter throughout both the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, highlighting key events and upcoming attractions.
What's New for the 2026 Winter Olympics?
The most significant addition to the Olympic programme is ski mountaineering, often called "skimo." This demanding sport combines uphill skiing using special skins, hiking with skis carried on the athlete's back, and downhill racing. Ski mountaineering will feature three medal events:
- Men's sprint
- Women's sprint
- Mixed relay
Beyond this new sport, several existing disciplines will introduce new events across luge, ski jumping, skeleton, freestyle skiing and alpine skiing. Approximately 3,000 athletes from 92 countries plus Independent Olympic Athletes will compete for 116 medals over the fortnight. Looking further ahead, cross-country running and cyclocross are being considered as potential additions for the 2030 Games in the French Alps.
Medal Table Predictions and Australian Prospects
Norway enters these Games as the defending champion, having topped the medal table at both the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. In Beijing 2022, Norway secured 16 gold, 8 silver and 13 bronze medals, finishing ahead of Germany and the United States. European and North American nations dominated the previous Games, with China achieving the highest Asian ranking at fourth position.
Australia is sending its second-largest Winter Olympic team ever, with 53 athletes competing across various disciplines. Recent performances on the World Cup circuit suggest Australia could be poised for a record medal haul. Four years ago in Beijing, Australia finished 18th on the medal table, just behind New Zealand and ahead of Great Britain, returning with one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Three of Australia's four 2022 medallists will return to defend or improve their performances. Mogul skier Jakara Anthony and snowboarders Scotty James and Tess Coady will be looking to build on their Beijing successes, while skeleton silver medallist Jaclyn Narracott will be absent from the team. Other Australian athletes to watch include teenage freeski halfpipe competitor Indra Brown and snowboard halfpipe specialist Valentino Guseli.
Key Rivalries to Watch
One of the most significant developments for ice hockey fans is the return of NHL stars to Olympic competition after a 12-year absence caused by contract disputes and pandemic-related issues. This dramatically raises the competitive level and spectator appeal of the ice hockey tournaments.
Among Australian competitors, the snowboard halfpipe competition promises an intriguing domestic rivalry between Scotty James and Valentino Guseli, though this is unlikely to generate the same geopolitical tensions as some international matchups. The USA versus Denmark ice hockey game scheduled for Valentine's Day carries particular symbolic weight given ongoing territorial disputes between the nations.
As the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics approach, Australian viewers can look forward to two weeks of elite winter sports competition, national pride, and compelling athletic narratives unfolding across the picturesque landscapes of northern Italy.
