On February 6, 2026, Milan will host the opening ceremony of the 25th Winter Olympic Games. The events will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo and will run through February 22. Organizers expect nearly 3,500 athletes from 93 countries competing for 116 medal sets in 16 disciplines.
Russia will not appear as a national team: only 13 athletes have been admitted under neutral status, and only in individual events. Hockey players, biathletes, and other team-sport competitors remain barred. It is Russia’s smallest representation in its modern Olympic history. Among the leading medal hopes are figure skaters Adelia Petrosyan and Petr Gumennik, ski mountaineer Nikita Filippov, and cross-country skier Savely Korostelev.
Belarus will send seven neutral female athletes. At the same time, dozens of Russian-born competitors and athletes with Russian roots will compete for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, and the United States. Ukraine’s Olympic committee named 46 athletes in 11 sports. Committee president Vadym Huttsait said athletes had been instructed on how to respond to possible provocations from Russians, while much of their preparation took place abroad because of the war and damage to sports infrastructure at home.
On January 30, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock called on the warring sides to agree to a mutual ceasefire during the Games in keeping with the spirit of the Olympic truce.
Preparations in Italy have been overshadowed by scandal. Milan’s new Santa Giulia hockey arena will not be fully completed by the start of the tournament, and its capacity has been reduced from 14,000 to 12,000 seats. Since 2024, Italian authorities have been investigating possible irregularities in contractor selection and construction tenders; dozens of people, including Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala, have come under scrutiny. Prosecutors also reported attempts by structures linked to the mafia to penetrate Olympic contracts. Another political dispute followed the announced arrival of ICE officers to accompany the US delegation. In Russia, meanwhile, the Olympic broadcast will for the first time be carried not by a federal television channel but by the Okko streaming platform.