How to watch the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics

MILAN, Lombardy —

It’s here! The Opening Ceremony for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games takes place Friday and promises to be one of the most ambitious and complex in Olympic history.

This year’s ceremony will unfold across multiple venues.

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The Parade of Nations will be held at the Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium, as well as at Olympic venues in Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina. Unlike previous opening ceremonies, where delegations and flag bearers enter one venue as a staggered group, Milan Cortina 2026 will feature athletes parading at locations closest to where they will compete during the Games.

In addition to the Opening Ceremony, figure skating, curling and hockey are all in early action on Friday. Here's how you can watch all of the action.

HOW TO WATCH BROADCAST COVERAGE

Leading into the Opening Ceremony Friday will be competition coverage of the first day of the figure skating team event, with the rhythm dance, pairs’ short program, and women’s short program as the U.S. team begins defense of its 2022 Olympic gold medal, beginning at 12 p.m. ET on NBC.

Then you can catch live coverage of the Opening Ceremony starting at 2 p.m. ET, with Primetime coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Veteran sports commentators Mary Carillo and Terry Gannon will host NBC's live and primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony. They will be joined by three‑time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, who will provide commentary during the Parade of Nations as athletes enter the stadium.

Five additional reporters will be stationed throughout the geographically expansive Opening Ceremony, with global megastar Snoop Dogg stationed in Cortina, where he will interview Del Duca and members of the U.S. bobsledding team.

Britney Eurton (Cortina), Lewis Johnson (Milan), Tina Dixon (Livigno) and Nicole Auerbach (Predazzo) will also serve as on-site reporters.

From 6,000 miles away, Olympic primetime host Mike Tirico will also contribute to the Opening Ceremony coverage from Northern California, where he will be preparing to call Super Bowl 60 on Sunday.

HOW TO WATCH THURSDAY: DIGITAL COVERAGE

MILAN CORTINA 2026 ONGOING COVERAGE: Live coverage on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com and USA Network.

Olympic Sports | Best of Milan Cortina | 1 a.m. until 9 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Sit back and stream the top moments of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games including highlights, interviews and more.
Figure Skating | Team Event: Day 1 (Venue Feed) | 3:55 a.m. until 8:55 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | The ice dance rhythm dance, pairs and women's short programs kick off the team event at the Forum di Milano. World feed. No commentary.
Figure Skating | Team: Rhythm Dance | 4 a.m. until 5:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | The figure skating team event continues with the rhythm dance at the Forum di Milano. TV coverage joined in progress.
Figure Skating | Team Event: Day 1 | 4 a.m. until 8:55 a.m. ET | Click here to watch| Ongoing Olympic coverage on USA Network, featuring the figure skating team event, including the rhythm dance, pairs short and women's short programs.
Curling| Italy vs. Switzerland (MD Round-Robin) | 4:05 a.m. until 6:05 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with Italy vs. Sweden in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Curling| Sweden vs. Great Britain (MD Round-Robin) | 4:05 a.m. until 6:05 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with Sweden vs. Great Britain in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Curling| USA vs. Canada (MD Round-Robin) | 4:05 a.m. until 6:05 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with United States vs. Canada in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Alpine Skiing | Men's Downhill: Training | 5:30 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Athletes hit the slopes in Bormio for training ahead of the men's downhill competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Alpine Skiing | Women's Downhill: Training | 5:30 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Athletes hit the slopes at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre for training ahead of the women's downhill competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Figure Skating | Team: Pairs Short | 5:35 a.m. until 7:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics begins with the pairs short program portion of the team event.
Olympic Sports | Best of Milan Cortina | 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | Sit back and stream the top moments of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games including highlights, interviews and more.
Hockey| France vs. Japan (Women's Group B) | 6:10 a.m. until 8:40 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | France and Japan face off in a women's hockey Group B game at the Rho Ice Hockey Arena. World feed.
Figure Skating | Team: Women's Short | 7:35 a.m. until 8:55 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Alysa Liu competes for the U.S. as the figure skating team event continues with the women's short program at the Forum di Milano.
Figure Skating | Figure Skating: Training | 7:45 a.m. until 11 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Athletes take the ice at the Forum di Milano ahead of Olympic Figure Skating events.
Curling| Czechia vs. USA (MD Round-Robin) | 8:35 a.m. until 10:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with Czechia vs. United States in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Curling| Italy vs. Estonia (MD Round-Robin) | 8:35 a.m. until 10:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with Italy vs. Estonia in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Curling| South Korea vs. Great Britain (MD Round-Robin) | 8:35 a.m. until 10:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with South Korea vs. Great Britain in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Curling| Sweden vs. Norway (MD Round-Robin) | 8:35 a.m. until 10:35 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mixed doubles curling continues with Sweden vs. Norway in round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Hockey| Czechia vs. Switzerland (Women's Group A) | 8:40 a.m. until 11:10 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Czechia and Switzerland face off in a women's hockey Group A game at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. World feed.
Olympic Sports | Milan Cortina 2026 Coverage | 8:55 a.m. until 2 p.m. ET | Click here to watch| Ongoing Olympic coverage on USA Network, featuring curling, the U.S. facing Czechia in women's hockey and snowboard big air qualifying.
Ceremony| Opening Ceremony: Red Carpet | 10:15 a.m. until 12 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | Celebrity guests walk the red carpet ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games.
Olympic Sports | On NBC: Figure Skating | 12 p.m. until 1:40 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | Coverage of the team event in figure skating, including the rhythm dance and pairs short program.
Ceremony| 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony | 1:40 p.m. until 5 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | The 2026 Winter Olympics open with the lighting of the cauldron and the Parade of Nations at the San Siro Olympic Stadium.
Ceremony| Opening Ceremony: Alt Feed | 1:45 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | Mobile phones capture the Opening Ceremony from unique perspectives in both Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Ceremony| 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony | 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | The 2026 Winter Olympics open in Milan with the lighting of the cauldron and the Parade of Nations at the San Siro Olympic Stadium. World feed.
Olympic Sports | Best of Milan Cortina | 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | Sit back and stream the top moments of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games including highlights, interviews and more.
Ceremony| 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony | 8 p.m. until 11 p.m. ET | Click here to watch | The 2026 Winter Olympics open in Milan with the Parade of Nations and the lighting of the cauldron at the San Siro Olympic Stadium.
Ceremony| 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony | 9 p.m. until 12 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | The 2026 Winter Olympics open in Milan with the Parade of Nations and the lighting of the cauldron at the San Siro Olympic Stadium.
Ceremony| 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony | 11 p.m. until 2 a.m. ET | Click here to watch | The 2026 Winter Olympics open in Milan with the Parade of Nations and the lighting of the cauldron at the San Siro Olympic Stadium.