The venues of the 2026 Winter Olympics : NPR

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The 2026 Olympics are set to be probably the most geographically widespread Video games in historical past, the primary to span a number of areas and two host cities: Milan and Cortina, that are about 250 miles other than one another by street.

Over the course of two and a half weeks, athletes in 16 sports activities will compete in occasions at 25 venues.

The motion is split amongst 4 predominant clusters throughout northern Italy: Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme. Athletes will reside in one among six Olympic Villages all through the area: Milan, Cortina, Anterselva, Bormio, Livigno and Predazzo.

“This strategy permits the utmost use of current venues, lowering the necessity for brand spanking new building and, as a consequence, minimising the carbon footprint,” states the Worldwide Olympic Committee on Olympics.com.

The venues span an space overlaying some 8,495 sq. miles. Getting between cities might take various hours by automobile — particularly on distant, wintery roads.

Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, says spectators hoping to attend occasions in particular person must be practical concerning the time and distance required to get between venues and will plan accordingly.

“I believe this would be the traditional ‘pack your persistence,’ as a result of there can be some journey time,” she mentioned.

Even if you happen to’re watching from afar, it is nonetheless useful to know which occasions are taking place the place. Here is a information to the 2026 Olympic venues.

Milan: Opening ceremony, skating and hockey 

Milan is a significant monetary hub in Italy, to not point out a worldwide capital of vogue and design. That is the primary time it would host the Olympic Video games, kicking off the opening ceremony and housing many of the indoor sports activities.

The opening ceremony on Feb. 6 can be hosted at Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium. The stadium — referred to as the Temple of Soccer — is house to the town’s two predominant soccer golf equipment, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and marks its one centesimal anniversary in 2026.

Determine skating and brief monitor will happen on the Milano Ice Skating Enviornment, referred to as the Unipol Discussion board, positioned within the small city of Assago, lower than 2 miles exterior Milan.

Ice hockey is unfold throughout two venues, the momentary Milano Rho Ice Hockey Enviornment and the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Enviornment. The latter is the solely new everlasting venue constructed for the Video games.

Pace skating can be hosted on the Milano Pace Skating Stadium.

Cortina d’Ampezzo: Sliding sports activities and girls’s Alpine snowboarding

Cortina, a prestigious resort city within the Dolomite Mountains, is thought for its Alpine surroundings and winter sports activities. The “Pearl of the Dolomites” has hosted the Winter Video games earlier than, in 1956.

Alpine snowboarding will happen at Tofane Alpine Snowboarding Centre, named after some of the dramatic mountain teams within the Jap Dolomites. Many rivals can be conversant in the Olympia delle Tofane — the ski run grew to become a everlasting fixture on the ladies’s World Cup circuit in downhill and super-G within the early Nineties and likewise served because the venue for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2021.

Curling occasions will happen on the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, which hosted lots of the indoor occasions on the 1956 Video games. This time round, the venue may also host the Paralympics closing ceremony.

Bobsled, luge and skeleton are all taking place on the new Cortina Sliding Centre, constructed on the grounds of the historic monitor utilized in 1956. It has already been chosen as a contest venue for the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Video games.

The biathlon will happen within the Antholz valley, about 30 miles north of Cortina, close to the border with Austria. The Anterselva Biathlon Enviornment has the biggest spectator capability of any of this yr’s Olympic venues, set to accommodate as much as 19,000 folks per session.

Valtellina: Freestyle snowboarding, snowboarding, ski mountaineering and males’s Alpine snowboarding

Valtellina Valley is within the Lombardy area of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland, and is recognized for its snowboarding, cheeses and wine. The cities of Bormio and Livigno will host a number of outside occasions.

Males’s Alpine snowboarding, in addition to the brand new sport of ski mountaineering, are taking place in Bormio, a historic ski resort within the Italian Alps. The Stelvio Ski Centre will crown the lads’s downhill snowboarding champions and host the one new sport making its Olympic debut this yr.

Freestyle snowboarding and snowboard occasions will happen at two venues — Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park and Livigno Snow Park — in Livigno, close to the border with Switzerland.

Val di Fiemme: Cross-country snowboarding and ski leaping

Val di Fiemme is a valley within the japanese Trentino province, recognized for its museums, climbing and cross-country snowboarding. Olympic occasions within the cluster are unfold throughout two of its villages, Tesero and Predazzo.

Cross-country snowboarding and Nordic mixed occasions — in addition to Para biathlon and Para cross-country snowboarding — will happen on the famend Tesero Cross-Nation Snowboarding Stadium, which has practically 12 miles of trails and one of many larger spectator capacities, at 15,000. It has been a landmark for cross-country snowboarding because it hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1991.

Ski leaping competitions and the leaping section of the Nordic mixed occasions will happen on the renovated Predazzo Ski Leaping Stadium, which has two predominant competitors hills, three smaller coaching jumps, a brand new judges’ tower and a spectator capability of 15,000.

Verona: The closing ceremony

The medieval city of Verona, within the Veneto area, is probably greatest referred to as the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It’ll even be the closing web site of the 2026 Olympics.

The closing ceremony on Feb. 22 will happen on the Verona Olympic Enviornment, Italy’s third-largest Roman amphitheater, which was inbuilt A.D. 30 to host gladiator battles. In a full-circle second, the venue may also host the Paralympic opening ceremony on March 6.