Taking place around 18 months after the Summer Games, the Winter Olympics sees some of the world's most talented athletes compete in sporting events on snow and ice.
While the modern Olympics can be traced back nearly 3,000 years to ancient Greece, the Winter Olympics were first held in 1924 and have been held every four years since, except during the Second World War.
Below we look at all you need to know about the Winter Games.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will primarily take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in northern Italy. The two cities will serve as joint-hosts.
The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony will be on Friday 6th February 2026 with the Closing Ceremony on Sunday 22nd February 2026.
The first event of the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place on Wednesday 4th February
Following the removal of the alpine mixed team parallel event, the addition of three ski mountaineering events and five new events in freestyle skiing, luge, ski jumping and skeleton, there will be a total of 116 events at the 2026 Winter Olympics across 16 sports.
Sport | Medals contested |
Alpine skiing | 10 |
Biathlon | 11 |
Bobsleigh | 4 |
Cross-country skiing | 12 |
Curling | 3 |
Figure skating | 5 |
Freestyle skiing | 15 |
Ice hockey | 2 |
Luge | 5 |
Nordic combined | 3 |
Short-track speed skating | 9 |
Skeleton | 3 |
Ski jumping | 6 |
Ski mountaineering | 3 |
Snowboarding | 11 |
Speed skating | 14 |
While the 2026 Winter Olympics will primarily take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, 13 different venues will be used during the Games.
Venue | Events | Capacity |
San Siro Stadium | Opening ceremony | 75,817 |
Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena - PalaItalia | Ice Hockey (finals) | 16,000 |
Milan Ice Park | Ice Hockey, Speed skating | 12,000 |
Forum di Milano, Assago | Figure skating, Short track speed skating | 12,700 |
Venue | Events | Capacity |
Olimpia delle Tofane | Alpine skiing | 1,000 (main grandstand) |
South Tyrol Arena, Antholz | Biathlon | 9,000 |
Olympic Ice Stadium | Curling | 7,000 |
Eugenio Monti Olympic Track | Bobsleigh, Luge, Skeleton | TBC |
Venue | Events | Capacity |
Pista Stelvio, Bormio | Alpine skiing, Ski mountaineering | TBC |
Mottolino/Sitas-Tagliede/Carosello 3000, Livigno | Snowboarding, Freestyle skiing | TBC |
Venue | Events | Capacity |
Giuseppe Dal Ben Ski Jumping Arena, Predazzo | Ski jumping, Nordic combined | TBA |
Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, Lago di Tésero | Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined | 50,000 |
Venue | Events | Capacity |
Verona Arena | Closing ceremony | 20,000 |
Although the IOC doesn't award prize money at the Olympics, many nations do rewards their medallists with prize money, though this varies significantly by country.
2026 prize money hasn't been confirmed, but gold medal winners from the 2022 Winter Olympics received anywhere between £10,000 for a gold medal to a competitor from Australia, to around £500,000 for a gold medal to a competitor from Singapore.