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,

Here is everything you need to know about the Olympic torch lighting, including TV and streaming options for this year's opening ceremony.

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.

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.

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 .

Roughly 3,000 Olympic athletes will participate in the ceremony, officially marking the beginning of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Everything to know about this cherished tradition.

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.