Greece’s Olympic Team looks to skier Alexandros Ioannis Ginnis for its first medal in the Winter Games starting in the Italian Alps today, February 6, 2026. The XXV Olympic Winter Games, officially known as Milano Cortina 2026,

From Heated Rivalry stars to the event’s iconic venues, here’s what you should be looking out for at the Winter Olympics 2026 opening and closing ceremonies.

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics kick off in February 2026! Learn more about the opening ceremony festivities now.

Americans who top the podium at the Milan Cortina Games will be in line for a $37,500 bonus. Their competitors could collect as much as $800,000.

As the flag is raised up the pole, and orchestra — often with a youth choir — plays the Olympic Anthem, which dates back to the 1896 Games in Athens, Greece. It was composed by Spýros Samáaras to words by Kostís Palamás, and invokes the "immortal spirit" of competition.

Davidson College Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics Allison Smith examines the "distant echoes" of the original Olympic Games and how they compare to the modern global competition. The discussion explores the evolution of the games from a sacred religious sanctuary at Olympia to today's "moving circus" of international host cities.

Every Olympic Games has a torch. Every torch has a designer. For the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, that designer is MIT engineer and architect Carlo Ratti .

The medals at this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy’s Milano Cortina will be the most expensive in the history of the Games. The gold is valued between $2,170 and $2,3000, whereas the silver is worth between $1,

What are Olympic medals made of? The answer varies depending on the time period of the Olympics you look into. (AP Photo)