An commercial for the 2026 Winter Olympics stands close to Piazza Duomo within the co-host metropolis of Milan, Italy, within the lead-up to the opening ceremony.
Maja Hitij/Getty Photographs
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Maja Hitij/Getty Photographs
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It is the Winter Olympics, that particular season each 4 years through which everybody you understand is instantly an skilled on luge technique and curling approach from the consolation of their sofa.
There’s loads to dive into this yr, on the unusually spread-out Milan Cortina Olympics.
A whole bunch of athletes from world wide — together with 232 from the U.S. — will descend on over two dozen venues throughout northern Italy to compete in 16 totally different sports activities. There are 116 medal occasions on the road all through the two-and-a-half weeks. And this time, in contrast to the COVID-era 2022 Beijing Winter Video games, spectators shall be allowed to observe in individual.
However you do not have to board a aircraft or sport hand heaters to get view, because of NBC’s strong broadcasting rights and NPR’s scrappy group of journalists on the bottom. This is observe the motion — and peek behind the scenes — from dwelling.
Methods to watch the opening ceremony
The Feb. 6 opening ceremony marks the official begin of the Video games (regardless that a number of sports activities, together with curling and ice hockey, begin competing two days earlier).
It is going to be held primarily on the historic San Siro Stadium in Milan, that includes performances by icons like Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, in addition to conventional parts just like the Parade of Nations and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.
However there can even be simultaneous ceremonies and athlete parades at a few of the different venues — scattered a whole lot of miles aside — and, for the primary time in historical past, a second Olympic cauldron shall be lit within the co-host metropolis of Cortina d’Ampezzo.
NBC’s dwell protection of the opening ceremony (additionally streaming on Peacock) will start at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 6, with a primetime broadcast deliberate for 8 p.m. ET the identical day.
Methods to sustain as soon as the Video games start
There are 16 days of competitors between the opening and shutting ceremonies, with contests and medal occasions scattered all through, relying on the game. This is the total schedule (occasions are listed in native time in Italy, which is six hours forward of Jap time).
NBC says it should broadcast occasions dwell all through the day, with a nightly primetime highlights present at 8 p.m. ET, adopted by a late-night model.
U.S.-based viewers can watch on NBC, Peacock and a number of different platforms, together with the apps and web sites of each NBC and NBC Sports activities. Seasoned Olympic viewers will acknowledge Peacock viewing experiences like “Gold Zone” (which whips round between key moments, eliminating the necessity to channel surf) and “Multiview,” now out there on cellular.
The Feb. 22 closing ceremony shall be broadcast dwell beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET, and once more on primetime at 9 p.m. ET.
It is going to happen at a historic amphitheater in Verona, which can even host the opening ceremony of the Paralympics on March 6. Some 600 Para athletes will compete in 79 medal occasions throughout six sports activities — together with Para Alpine snowboarding, sled hockey and wheelchair curling — earlier than the closing ceremony in Cortina on March 15.
Methods to observe NPR’s protection
All of the whereas, you may try NPR’s Olympics protection to higher perceive the important thing folks, context and moments that make up the Video games.
NPR’s five-person Olympics group will carry you information, recaps and colour from the bottom in Italy, on-line, on air and in your inbox. Plus, count on updates and the occasional deep dive from NPR’s journalists watching from D.C. and world wide.
You’ll find all of NPR’s Winter Olympics tales (previous, current and upcoming) right here on our web site.
To take heed to our broadcast protection, tune to your native NPR station and stream our radio programming on npr.org or the NPR app.
Plus, subscribe to our e-newsletter, Rachel Goes to the Video games, for a every day dose of what it is prefer to be there in individual.
We’ll even have a video podcast, Up First Winter Video games, to additional dissect the day’s greatest Olympic tales and oddities. You’ll find it on NPR’s YouTube web page.
