Officially, the 2026 Winter Olympics start on Friday evening at the opening ceremony. In practice, competition begins on Wednesday, February 4 when the curling gets under way.
Here is our guide to the first seven days of competition at Milan-Cortina 2026: the events you need to know about, the biggest names in the athletes’ village and when every one of the 53 Team GB athletes is in action.
In the UK, the Winter Olympics is broadcast on the BBC, but only selected events will be shown. For the full broadcast experience, you will need TNT Sport and the Discovery+ app.
All times in this guide are UK time (GMT) which is one hour behind local time in Italy.
Day -2
Wednesday, February 4
If you only watch one thing…
Curling
6.05pm: Great Britain v Norway (mixed doubles)
If sliding granite stones on ice is your thing, you’re in luck. Curling is the only event that runs every day during the Winter Olympics and there’s so much to fit in that the action gets under way two days before the official opening of the Games, with the mixed teams going first. Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds start their campaign at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium against Norway in the first of eight matches, with the round-robin action concluding on February 8 before semi-finals and finals.
Day -1
Thursday, February 5
If you only watch one thing…
Snowboarding
6.30pm-8pm: men’s big air qualifying
Big air is essentially one massive, adrenaline-fuelled jump. Athletes descend a steep slope before launching themselves into the air, pulling off flips, spins and grabs. Snowboarders are judged on several criteria, such as difficulty, execution and landing. Britain’s sole competitor in this event is Txema Mazet-Brown, a 19-year-old rising star in snowboarding, who was born in Reunion to a French father and British mother. The qualification rounds determine who advances to the finals, where competitors have three jumps.
Other key events
Curling
9.05am: Great Britain v Estonia (mixed doubles)
6.05pm: Czech Republic v Great Britain (mixed doubles)
Ice hockey
8.10pm: women’s preliminary rounds begin (Switzerland v Canada)
Day 0
Friday, February 6
If you only watch one thing…
7pm: Opening Ceremony
Mariah Carey is among the stars who will be performing at the opening ceremony, which marks the official start to the Games. For the first time in history, two Olympic cauldrons will be lit: one at Milan’s most famous landmark, the city’s Arch of Peace, and the other in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a mountain resort in the heart of the Italian Alps, which will host the alpine skiing, curling, biathlon and sliding events.
Other key events
Curling
9.05am: Sweden v Great Britain (mixed doubles)
1.35pm: Korea v Great Britain (mixed doubles)
Figure skating
8.55am: team event - ice dance
10.35am: team event - pair skating
12.35pm: team event - women single skating
Athletes to watch: Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GB)
Figure skating
8.55am: team event - ice dance, rhythm dance
The British pair, who won European bronze in Sheffield last month, begin their quest to win Britain’s first Olympic figure skating medal since Torvill and Dean in 1984. James Hernandez and Phebe Bekker will also compete for Team GB.
All Britons in action
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (figure skating - ice dance)
James Hernandez and Phebe Bekker (figure skating - ice dance)
Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby (figure skating - pair skating)
Kristen Spours (figure skating - women’s single skating)
Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds (curling - mixed doubles)
Day 1
Saturday February 7
If you only watch one thing…
Alpine skiing
10.30am: men’s downhill final
The blue-riband skiing event at the Winter Olympics are the men’s and women’s downhill – the fastest, longest and most dangerous alpine discipline. Athletes can reach speeds of 80 miles per hour as they navigate tight turns in a test of bravery, speed and skill. Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen, the reigning world champion, is among those hoping to top the podium. Think you can ski? Watch this lot.
Other key events (including all finals)
Curling
9.05am: Great Britain v Canada (mixed doubles)
1.35pm Great Britain v USA (mixed doubles)
Freestyle skiing
9.30am: women’s slopestyle qualifying
1pm: men’s slopestyle qualifying
Alpine skiing
10.30am: men’s downhill final
Cross-country skiing
12pm: women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon final
Speedskating
3pm: women’s 3000m final
Ice hockey
3.40pm: women’s preliminary rounds (USA v Finland)
Ski jumping
6.07pm: women’s NH individual final
Snowboarding
6.30pm: men’s big air final
Figure skating
6.45pm - men’s single skating
9.05pm - team event - ice dance
Athlete to watch: Hiroto Ogiwara (Japan)
Snowboarding
6.30pm: men’s big air final
Japanese snowboarding starlet Ogiwara turned professional when he was 12 (you read that right). The 20-year-old is a big favourite to reach the podium at his first Olympics, having already twice made history in the sport. A double X Games winner, he became the first athlete to land a 2340 mute grab last year – that’s six and a half rotations in the air.
All Britons in action
Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds (curling - mixed doubles)
Anna Pryce (women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon)
Kirsty Muir (freestyle skiing - slopestyle)
Chris McCormick (freestyle skiing - slopestyle)
Edward Appleby (figure skating - men’s single skating)
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (figure skating - ice dance)
Phebe Beckker and James Hernandez (figure skating - ice dance)
Day 2
Sunday February 8
If you only watch one thing…
Alpine skiing
10.30am: women’s downhill final
Lindsey Vonn is the big talking point in the women’s alpine downhill after suffering a crash last week in her final race before the Games. Will America’s 41-year-old skiing superstar make it to the startline? Vonn is one of the biggest names in the sport and announced her shock return to the slopes in 2024 after knee replacement surgery allowed her to ski pain-free for the first time in years. It would be some story if the three-time Olympic medallist adds another gold to her collection.
Other key events (including all finals)
Alpine skiing
10.30am: women’s downhill final
Cross-country skiing
11.30am: men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon final
Biathlon
1.05pm: mixed relay 4 x 6km final
Snowboard
1.26pm: women’s parallel giant slalom final
Speed skating
3pm: men’s 5000m final
Luge
5.34pm: men’s singles run 4 (includes final placings)
Snowboarding
6.30pm: women’s big air qualifying
Figure skating
8.55pm - team event, men’s single skating final
Athlete to watch: Ester Ledecka (Czech Republic)
Snowboard
1.26pm: women’s parallel giant slalom final
Skiing or snowboarding – Ledecka does both. The Czech superwoman is an alpine skier and snowboarder and is the only woman to win Olympic titles in two different sports but at Milano-Cortina she’s having to prioritise one over the other due to a scheduling clash. The 30-year-old has decided to forgo the alpine skiing downhill event to defend her snowboard crown in the parallel giant slalom.
All Britons in action
Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds (curling - mixed doubles)
Andrew Musgrave, James Clugnet, Joe Davies (men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon)
Mia Brookes, Maisie Hill (snowboarding - women’s big air qualifying)
Edward Appleby (figure skating - men’s single skating final)
Day 3
Monday February 9
If you only watch one thing…
Freestyle skiing
6.30pm: Women’s freestyle slopestyle final
Slopestyle athletes navigate a course filled with rails, boxes, and jumps, performing tricks at each obstacle. To compete in this event, you have to be a bit of a nutter, or so says Britain’s Kirsty Muir. Adrenalin junkies like Muir can put forces equivalent to three times their bodyweight through their knees when performing turns and jumps. Aberdeen native Muir heads into her second Games with a maiden X Games title and three World Cup wins to her name and is a genuine medal contender.
Other key events (including all finals)
Freestyle skiing
11.30am: women’s freeski slopestyle final
Alpine skiing
1pm: men’s team combined slalom final
Curling
4.05pm-5.05pm: semi-finals (mixed doubles)
Speed skating
4.30pm: women’s 1000m final
Figure skating
6.20pm: ice dance - rhythm dance
Ski jumping
7.12pm - men’s individual final
Athlete to watch: Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan)
Expectations are high for Kobayashi, Japan’s defending ski jumping champion, who has won a staggering 37 World Cup individual competitions in the discipline. Off-slope antics have plagued men’s ski jumping in the build-up to these Games. The sport hit the headlines last month when German publication Bild reported that some jumpers were injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises to increase their crotch size, which increases the amount of fabric in their outfits, which helps generate more air resistance, which increases their time in the air. There is absolutely no suggestion that Kobayashi has resorted to such bizarre tactics, but you can bet he’s worked hard on his own (legal) ‘one-percenters’ to gain some aerodynamic edge.
All Britons in action
Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds (curling - mixed doubles)
Kirsty Muir (women’s freeski slopestyle)
Ellia Smeding (speedskating - women’s 1000m final)
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (figure skating - ice dance)
Phebe Beckker and James Hernandez (figure skating - ice dance)
Day 4
Tuesday February 10
If you only watch one thing…
Luge
5.34pm: women’s final
Feet-first. No brakes. How can you not love a bit of luge? Will a dynasty created by German athletes withstand another four years, or will the twists and turns of the Cortina Sliding Centre shake up the fastest sport on ice? This is a discipline where time gaps are wafer thin and every millisecond counts. Competitors each have four runs, which will determine the medal places.
Other key events
Cross country skiing
8.15am: women’s sprint classic qualifying (12.13pm final)
8.55am: men’s sprint classic qualifying (12.25pm final)
Short track speed skating
12.03pm: mixed team relay (final)
Freestyle skiing
10.15am: men’s moguls qualifying 1
12.28pm: men’s slopestyle final
1.15pm: women’s moguls qualifying 1
Biathlon
12.30pm: men’s 20km final
Alpine skiing
1pm: women’s team combined slalom (final)
Curling
1.05pm: bronze medal game (mixed doubles)
5.05pm: gold medal game (mixed doubles)
Luge
5.34pm: women’s final
Ski jumping
7pm: mixed team - final round
Athlete to watch: Makayla Gerken-Schofield
The first British skier ever to feature in an Olympic moguls final, after finishing eighth in Beijing 2022, Gerken-Schofield will be hoping to go a few better at her second Winter Games. In Moguls skiing competitors navigate a steep 200-250m slope covered in large snow bumps called moguls (it looks horrific on the knees). The event runs in the Gerken-Schofield family, with Makayla’s older twin siblings, Leonie and Thomas, both representing Britain on the international circuit.
All Britons in action
Anna Pryce (cross country skiing - women’s sprint classic)
James Clugnet, Andrew Musgrave, Joe Davies (cross country skiing - men’s sprint classic)
Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds (curling - mixed doubles)
Makayla Gerken-Schofield (freestyle skiing - women’s moguls qualifying)
Matteo Jeannesson (freestyle skiing - men’s moguls qualifying)
To follow: the schedule for days 5-16