Short but thoughtful survival manual for the event that will take place in a few weeks. Here are the essential things to know so you don’t miss anything
In the end, even the most indifferent will end up getting involved. Or overwhelm. Because sport works like this: it generates emotions, produces attachments, seduces with the unfathomable mastery of athletic gestures and with the history that everyone carries with them. Sport is not narrative, it’s epic.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be no exception: thanks to a fair, healthy patriotism (they fall 20 years after Turin, 70 after Cortina itself), they will be the main topic of the coming weeks. For the medals and defeats, the goals achieved, missed or missed, but also for the international visibility they will give to the country: the recurring comparison is with the 2015 Expo, they are a driving force for Lombardy and the entire country.
Finally, they will hold sway for what will remain, for the legacy they will leave as a gift to the host territories.
Panorama dedicates four episodes to the event, not focusing on the news of the races, but on the practical galaxy that precedes them. On the things you need to know to be part of the event or, at least, its conversation.
Because, in one way or another, these Olympics concern everyone, mountaineers or those allergic to skis, couch potatoes and hyper-dynamic, enthusiastic and wary.
When we start. The inaugural ceremony, scheduled for February 6th at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium – renamed for the occasion, with some bombast, “Milan San Siro Olympic Stadium” – will give the official start to the event.
Among the big international names, the pop star Mariah Carey is expected, among the local ones the singer Laura Pausini and the actor Pierfrancesco Favino, but the culminating moment, as per tradition, will coincide with the parade of male and female athletes. A widespread parade, which will also be staged in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo.
The event will in fact be polycentric, it will take place in several places, not only in Veneto and Lombardy. It will expand to Trentino-Alto Adige and will involve the slopes of Valtellina as well as those of Val di Fiemme.
And if it is true that the Games will start on February 6th and will continue until the 22nd (while the Paralympics from March 6th to 15th), looking at the official calendar reveals another surprise, a small appetizer: curling will start on February 4th, ice hockey and snowboarding the following day.
How to follow them live. Even in this case a cliché can be dispelled. You don’t have to go as far as Milan or Cortina to breathe the spirit of the Five Circles: lit last November 26th in Greece, the Olympic Flame has been touring Italy, including the islands, since the beginning of December. Among the next stops are Verona (also the closing ceremony is scheduled for the Arena of the Venetian capital on 22 February), Padua, Venice, Trieste, Udine and Bergamo.
Tickets for the races are already on sale. They can be purchased on the Tickets.milanocortina2026.org website: they are cataloged by discipline and location, so it is easy to understand where each sport takes place. A separate section is dedicated to vouchers for the Paralympic Games and hospitality packages (provided by the On Location company), for those looking for a higher level experience, which ranges from priority entrances to access to lounges with food and drinks.
To make it easier to reach the competition venues, Trenitalia has strengthened integrated connections, allowing spectators to travel in a sustainable way, for example by combining rail and bus transport with a single ticket. The details are on the Trenitalia.com website.
How to follow them from home. Those who don’t want to travel can still enjoy the Olympics on TV. Rai will broadcast hundreds of hours of live broadcast free-to-air, i.e. available for free to all, focusing above all on the Azzurri’s matches, with an offer that also extends to the radio and the web. The public service has also been awarded the exclusive media rights for Italy for the Paralympic Games. As for the full coverage of the events of the Olympic Games, it will be available in streaming on HBO Max, a platform launched just recently, and on Discovery+.
Having exhausted the list of essential information, next week we will move on to the sporting front. We will explore the various disciplines, from the classics to a newcomer. We will talk about the most anticipated Italian champions, betting on those who could surprise. The Olympic journey has just begun.
