It’s time to go for the gold.
Though the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics competitions began on Wednesday, the official Opening Ceremony takes place this afternoon.
The lavish show will be held at Milan’s 100-year-old San Siro Olympic Stadium and designed by Marco Balich, a creative director with 16 Olympic ceremonies on his resume.
“The secret to a beautiful ceremony is to say something meaningful, using concepts that are easy to understand,” he recently told the New York Times.
For the first time, the ceremony will end with the lighting of two Olympic flames, one in Milan and one in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Read on for everything you need to know to catch all the action from home — plus, when to tune in for Team USA’s arrival.
When is the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
The Winter Olympics opening ceremony airs on NBC on Friday, Feb. 6, at 1:40 p.m. ET and is expected to last roughly three hours.
How to watch the Winter Olympics 2026 opening ceremony
If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the opening ceremonies live for free.
One cost-effective option we love is Sling TV, which has a number of flexible plans. NBC is part of Sling’s Select plan, which starts at $19.99/month and includes your live local NBC channel. Since the games end on Feb. 22, one month of Sling is enough to ensure you can watch all of the Olympics.
Additionally, as the official streaming home of the winter games, Peacock will also be broadcasting thousands of hours of live coverage. (It costs $10.99/month with ads and $16.99/month without ads.)
Who is performing at the Winter Olympics ceremony?
Mariah Carey is going from Queen of Christmas to Queen of Winter. The Grammy winner is performing at the opening ceremony, in addition to Andrea Boccelli, Sabrina Impacciatore — who starred in “The Paper” and “The White Lotus” Season 2 — Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
When will Team USA appear in the Parade of Nations? Who are Team USA’s flag bearers?
As the birthplace of the Olympics, Greece always leads the parade of nations, followed by the rest of the countries alphabetically (in the language of the home country), with three exceptions.
Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca were both chosen as flag bearers for Team USA. Per usual, the whole team will be dressed by Ralph Lauren (and fans can purchase similar styles from the all-American brand’s Team USA line).
When is the Olympics 2026 closing ceremony?
The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics will come to an end on Feb. 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
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