<p>The 2026 Winter Olympics take place from February 6-22 in Milano Cortina, Italy, marking the first time two cities have officially co-hosted an Olympic Games.</p> <p>More than 2,900 athletes from 93 countries will meet in Italy to compete across 116 medal events in 16 sports.</p> <p>Australia's expected to send around 50-60 athletes to these Games, with the entire event broadcast live on Channel 9 and 9Now and thoroughly covered here at Sportsbet.</p> <p>The Australian team will compete across 12 of the 16 sports, with strong medal chances in moguls, aerial skiing, and snowboarding.</p> <p>Milano Cortina 2026 brings something new to the Winter Olympics besides it being a ‘tale of two cities,’ as ski mountaineering makes its Olympic debut.</p> <h2>Key Facts &amp; Essential Information out the 2026 Winter Olympics</h2> <h3>Dates &amp; Duration</h3> <p>The Opening Ceremony kicks off at San Siro Stadium in Milan on February 6, but competitions actually start two days earlier.</p> <p>Curling's mixed doubles event begins on February 4, getting the medal count underway before the pageantry even starts.</p> <p>The Games run for 17 days, wrapping up on February 22 with the Closing Ceremony at the evocative Arena di Verona, the romantic city that set the stage for Rome and Juliet’s infamous love story. That's a Roman amphitheater built in 30 AD, which makes for a pretty unique Olympic venue. The Paralympic Winter Games follow from March 6-15, 2026.</p> <h3>The Numbers</h3> <p>This is the biggest Winter Olympics setup yet, with 2,900 athletes from 93 countries competing for 116 medals across 16 sports.</p> <p>The Games spread across eight separate competition clusters, making it the most geographically dispersed Winter Olympics in history. Some athletes competing in multiple events will rack up serious travel time between venues.</p> <p>Milano Cortina 2026 is the first time two cities have officially co-hosted an Olympics. According to the organizers, Milan will handle the ice sports and urban events, while Cortina d'Ampezzo will take care of the alpine and sliding disciplines up in the Dolomite mountains.</p> <h3>Australian Coverage</h3> <p>Channel 9 has exclusive Australian broadcast rights, with every event streaming live on 9Now.</p> <p>So: no Foxtel, no Kayo, just Nine's coverage. They're bringing in Australian Olympic gold medallists as expert commentators, so you'll get proper analysis from people who've actually been there.</p> <p>The time difference works out to CET being 9 hours behind AEST. Most European afternoon events hit around 10pm-1am AEST, while evening events run from 2am-5am AEST. Not ideal, but better than some Olympics where everything happens at completely unwatchable hours.</p> <p>Australia's Chef de Mission is Alisa Camplin-Warner, who won aerials gold at Salt Lake City 2002 and bronze at Torino 2006, the last Games to take place in Italy before Milano Cortina.&nbsp;</p> <p>The expected team size is 50-60 athletes, which would make it Australia's largest Winter Olympic team ever. Beijing 2022 had 43 athletes and delivered four medals.</p> <h2>The Venues: Where Everything Happens</h2> <h3>Milan's Urban Cluster</h3> <p>San Siro Stadium hosts the Opening Ceremony. If you follow and <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/soccer/italy/italian-serie-a">bet on Serie A soccer</a>, you will know it as the home ground for AC Milan and Inter Milan, holds 80,000 people, and you've probably seen it on TV during <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/events/champions-league">UEFA Champions League matches</a>.</p> <p>Due to be rebuilt in the next few years, the San Siro ground will be a part of the Games only on opening day. After the ceremony, it doesn't host any actual Olympic events.</p> <p>The Santa Giulia Arena handles ice hockey. For the occasion, Fiera Milano gets converted into a speed skating venue for about €20 million, then goes back to being an exhibition centre after the Games.&nbsp;</p> <p>PalaSharp should have taken short track speed skating, which has now been moved to the Mediolanum Forum together with figure skating.</p> <p>These venues sit in and around Milan proper, giving the Games an urban feel that's different from the usual alpine resort setup.</p> <h3>Cortina d'Ampezzo</h3> <p>Cortina hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, so they know what they're doing. The town sits in the Dolomites, surrounded by mountains that look like they belong on a postcard.</p> <p>This cluster handles alpine skiing, bobsled, skeleton, luge, and curling. When you watch downhill skiing or the sliding events, you'll see those dramatic Dolomite peaks in the background.</p> <h3>Livigno</h3> <p>This is where Australian medal chances get serious. Livigno hosts freestyle skiing and snowboarding, which means moguls, aerials, halfpipe, and slopestyle all happen here.</p> <p>Jakara Anthony, Scotty James, Laura Peel, and Matt Graham will all compete at Livigno's venues.</p> <p>The moguls course was the first venue completed for these Games, finishing up in late 2024. This is not an insignificant detail, since Australia's aerial skiers have already competed World Cup events here and know the venue well.</p> <h3>Other Clusters</h3> <p>Valtellina hosts the ski mountaineering debut along with cross-country skiing. Val di Fiemme takes more cross-country events plus Nordic combined. Baselga di Pinè handles speed skating training facilities.</p> <p>The geographic spread makes the Games an incredible opportunity to discover some of Italy’s most beautiful destinations, but it also means logistics get complicated.</p> <p>Athletes might compete in Milan one day, then need to travel 200km to Livigno for their next event. It's ambitious, but Italy's running with the two-city hosting concept to spread the Olympic impact across regions.</p> <h3>The Closing Ceremony</h3> <p>February 22, Arena di Verona. This Roman amphitheater was built in 30 AD and still hosts opera performances throughout the year. Using it for the Olympic Closing Ceremony is the kind of historic venue choice you only get in Italy.</p> <h2>Sports &amp; Events: What You'll Watch</h2> <p>Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, luge, Nordic combined, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, ski mountaineering, snowboarding, and speed skating.</p> <p>Of course, not all of these matter if you're following Australia's chances. Biathlon? We don't have competitive athletes. Ice hockey? Same story. Nordic combined? Not happening.</p> <p>Australia focuses on specific disciplines where we've built programs and won medals.</p> <h3>Ski Mountaineering Makes Its Debut</h3> <p>This is genuinely new. Athletes race up and down mountains, alternating between skiing when the terrain allows it and climbing on foot when it doesn't.</p> <p>If you can’t picture it, you can think of it as a brutal endurance test that combines cross-country skiing with mountaineering.</p> <p>The new Ski Mountaineering discipline will bring us three events: men's sprint, women's sprint, and mixed relay.</p> <p>Australia might field athletes here, but it's early days for the program. Don't expect medals, but it's worth watching to see what the sport looks like at Olympic level.</p> <h3>Seven More New Events</h3> <p>Women's doubles luge replaces the open doubles event. Women's large hill ski jumping joins the program. Skeleton adds a mixed team event. Freestyle skiing introduces men's and women's dual moguls, which is huge for Australia since moguls is one of our strongest sports.</p> <p>The dual moguls format has two skiers racing head-to-head down parallel courses. It's faster, more direct, and creates different tactical situations than traditional moguls where athletes ski individually. Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham both compete in this format, and it gives Australia extra medal opportunities.</p> <p>Alpine skiing's mixed team parallel event got cut from the program. That's the only sport removed.</p> <h2>Australian Team: Who's Going to Milano Cortina</h2> <p>Australia expects to send 50-60 athletes to Milano Cortina, which would be the largest Australian Winter Olympic team in history.&nbsp;</p> <p>In comparison, Beijing 2022 had 43 athletes. The team will compete in 12 of the 16 sports, with the final selection announced in late January 2026 after qualification events wrap up.</p> <p>Alisa Camplin-Warner is going to be Australia’s Chef de Mission. She won aerials gold at Salt Lake City 2002 and bronze at Torino 2006, so she knows exactly what these athletes are going through. Her job is to manage everything from qualification support to building the team environment in Italy.</p> <h3>The Medal Contenders</h3> <h4>Jakara Anthony, 27, Moguls</h4> <p>Defending Olympic champion. World Cup leader. Coming back from a broken collarbone she sustained in December 2024, which required surgery in Oslo. She's been training in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre and recently returned to snow.</p> <p>Anthony's aiming to become the first Australian to successfully defend a Winter Olympic title. She dominated Beijing with the highest qualifying score ever recorded by an Australian in Olympic moguls, then backed it up with an 83.09 in the final. That's the kind of form that makes her a genuine favourite if she's healthy.</p> <p>The dual moguls event gives her two chances at gold. She's World Cup champion in both traditional moguls and dual moguls formats.</p> <h4>Scotty James, 31, Snowboard Halfpipe</h4> <p>Bronze at PyeongChang 2018. Silver at Beijing 2022. Milano Cortina is his fifth Olympics, and he's made it clear: he wants gold.</p> <p>"Got the bronze, got a silver now. There's only one left to get, so that's the plan: to finish off the collection in Italy," James said after Beijing. He's 31 now, married, recently became a father, and lives in Monaco for easy access to European training facilities.</p> <p>James recently broke Shaun White's record by winning his fourth consecutive X Games superpipe title. He's landed the triple cork in competition, the trick that defines the current cutting edge of halfpipe riding. Japan's Ayumu Hirano, Ruka Hirano, and Yuto Totsuka are all capable of winning, but James is right there with them. He's arguably the favourite heading into these Games.</p> <h4>Laura Peel, 35, Aerials</h4> <p>Career-best form. Third Crystal Globe. Five World Cup wins in the 2024-25 season. Two-time World Champion (2015, 2021). This might be Peel's last Olympics, and she's skiing like someone who knows it.</p> <p>She won the final World Cup event of the season on the actual 2026 Olympic course in Livigno. "I am so stoked, honestly I couldn't be happier, it's globe number three," she said after securing the World Cup championship. "That's a relief and I'm so excited to come back here for the Olympics."</p> <p>Peel lands the full-full-full triple somersault, one of the most difficult tricks in women's aerials. She was Australia's Opening Ceremony flag bearer at Beijing and finished seventh at PyeongChang 2018. At 35, she's in the best form of her career at exactly the right time.</p> <h4>Matt Graham, 31, Moguls</h4> <p>Silver medallist from PyeongChang 2018. Triple Olympian. Consistent World Cup performer who recently finished on the podium at World Cup events despite crashing heavily at Livigno in March 2025 (bruised lungs, but he competed at World Championships anyway).</p> <p>Graham's not the favourite, but he's exactly the kind of athlete who peaks at Olympics. The dual moguls format suits his head-to-head racing style. At 31, he's got the experience to handle Olympic pressure.</p> <h4>Tess Coady, 23, Snowboard Slopestyle</h4> <p>Beijing bronze medallist competing in both slopestyle and big air. She's been training at Thredbo during the Australian winter and heads to Europe in solid form.</p> <p>Coady learned about resilience early. An ACL injury in practice ended her PyeongChang 2018 campaign before it started. She was 17. Four years later, she won Olympic bronze. Now she's 23, more experienced, and ready to improve on that medal.</p> <h4>Danielle Scott, Aerials</h4> <p>Third in the 2024-25 World Cup standings. Multiple World Cup wins throughout her career. Finished on the podium alongside Laura Peel when Australia completed that historic 1-2-3-4 finish at Deer Valley.</p> <p>Scott's consistency makes her a genuine medal chance. She won't get the headlines that Peel does, but she's been finishing on World Cup podiums all season.</p> <h4>The Rising Stars</h4> <p>Charlotte Wilson is 20 years old and won a World Cup dual moguls event at Livigno in just her 10th career World Cup appearance. She beat the reigning Olympic champion (France's Perrine Laffont) and the world number one (USA's Jaelin Kauf) to win on the actual 2026 Olympic course. That's the kind of breakthrough performance that suggests she's ready for Olympics.</p> <p>Valentino Guseli is a young snowboarder with serious potential, though he's recovering from an ACL injury sustained in December 2024 that ruled him out of the 2025 World Championships.</p> <h2>How to Watch the Winter Olympics 2026 in Australia</h2> <p>Channel 9 has exclusive Australian broadcast rights for Milano Cortina 2026. Every event streams live on 9Now, with selected events broadcast on Channel 9 itself. There's no Foxtel coverage, no Kayo, nothing else. It's Nine or nothing.</p> <p>9Now is free. You need to create an account, but there's no subscription fee. Every event, every sport, live and on demand. If you miss Jakara Anthony's qualifying run at 3am, you can watch it later that morning.</p> <p>Channel 9 is bringing in Australian Olympic gold medallists as expert commentators. Expect people who've actually competed at Winter Olympics to be calling the events, which makes the coverage significantly better than generic commentary. They know what athletes are thinking, what tricks are difficult, and what pressure feels like.</p> <h2>FAQ</h2> <p><strong>When are the 2026 Winter Olympics?</strong></p> <p>February 6-22, 2026. Competitions begin February 4 with curling's mixed doubles event, two days before the Opening Ceremony. The Paralympic Winter Games follow from March 6-15, 2026.</p> <p><strong>Where are the 2026 Winter Olympics being held?</strong></p> <p>Milano Cortina, Italy. Milan handles ice sports (figure skating, hockey, speed skating, short track) and hosts the Opening Ceremony at San Siro Stadium. Cortina d'Ampezzo takes alpine skiing, bobsled, skeleton, luge, and curling. Six other competition clusters host the remaining events, with Livigno handling freestyle skiing and snowboarding. It's the most geographically spread Winter Olympics ever held.</p> <p><strong>How can I watch the Winter Olympics in Australia?</strong></p> <p>Channel 9 and 9Now have exclusive Australian broadcast rights. Every event streams live on 9Now for free (account required, no subscription). Channel 9 broadcasts selected events and runs prime-time highlights packages. There's no Foxtel or Kayo coverage.</p> <p><strong>How many Australian athletes will compete?</strong></p> <p>Australia expects to send 50-60 athletes, which would be the largest Australian Winter Olympic team ever. Beijing 2022 had 43 athletes. The team will compete in 12 of the 16 sports, with final selection announced in late January 2026 after qualification events conclude.</p> <p><strong>What sports are new at the 2026 Winter Olympics?</strong></p> <p>Ski mountaineering makes its Olympic debut with three events: men's sprint, women's sprint, and mixed relay. Athletes race up and down mountains, alternating between skiing and climbing on foot. Seven new events join existing sports: women's doubles luge, women's large hill ski jumping, skeleton mixed team event, and men's and women's dual moguls in freestyle skiing.</p> <p><strong>What time will events be on in Australia?</strong></p> <p>Most events run European afternoon/evening times, which equals late night/early morning AEST (10pm-7am). European afternoon events (2pm-5pm CET) run 11pm-2am AEST. European evening events (7pm-10pm CET) run 4am-7am AEST. The timezone difference is better than some Olympics, but you're still watching at odd hours if you want to see Australian medal events live.</p> <p><strong>Who are Australia's medal chances for 2026?</strong></p> <p>Jakara Anthony (defending moguls gold), Scotty James (hunting first gold in snowboard halfpipe after bronze and silver), and Laura Peel (two-time World Champion in aerials, current World Cup champion) lead Australia's medal hopes. Matt Graham (2018 moguls silver), Tess Coady (Beijing slopestyle bronze), and Danielle Scott (aerials World Cup medallist) are also genuine medal contenders. Australia's strength is in moguls, aerials, and snowboard halfpipe/slopestyle.</p> <p><strong>When does the Australian Oluympic team get announced?</strong></p> <p>Final team selection happens in late January 2026, after most qualification events conclude. For most winter sports, qualification is based on World Rankings from December 2025 and January 2026, which means athletes are competing for Olympic spots right up until the Games. The Australian Olympic Committee and Snow Australia's selection committee make the final decisions based on those rankings and performance standards.</p>