The 2026 Winter Olympic Games, set to take place from February 6 to 22 in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, are expected to be one of the major global sporting events of the coming years. These will be the 25th Winter Olympics in history, the fourth hosted by Italy, and the first in which Milan will serve as an Olympic host city. Cortina d’Ampezzo previously hosted the Winter Games in 1956.
Around 3,000 athletes from 91 countries are expected to compete, with 116 sets of medals to be awarded—seven more than at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Several countries, including Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and the United Arab Emirates, will be represented at the Winter Olympics for the first time in history.
The Milano–Cortina 2026 program will be one of the most diverse in the history of the Winter Games. It will include 16 disciplines, such as biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, short track speed skating, skeleton, ski jumping, Nordic combined, and freestyle skiing. Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut, with medals awarded in men’s and women’s sprint events as well as a mixed relay.
For Tajikistan, the 2026 Winter Olympics could mark a return to the Olympic winter stage after a long absence. Currently, four Tajik alpine skiers are still competing for Olympic qualification spots.
The qualification competitions will continue until the end of January, after which it will become clear whether Tajikistan’s national team will once again compete at the main winter sporting event of the four-year cycle.
Tajik athletes last took part in the Winter Olympics in 2014 in Sochi. The 2018 Games in PyeongChang and the 2022 Games in Beijing were held without representatives from Tajikistan. As a result, a potential appearance in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo would be seen as an important step and a symbolic return of the country to winter Olympic sports.
Olympic competitions will be held across several locations in Italy. Milan will host events in ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, and short track. Cortina d’Ampezzo will stage competitions in curling, bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, and women’s alpine downhill skiing. Additional events will take place in Val di Fiemme, Antholz (Anterselva), Bormio, and Livigno.
The opening ceremony will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, while the closing ceremony will take place at a historic arena in Verona. The qualification period will conclude on January 18, 2026.
