Only two weeks left to wait. Next Wednesday, February 4, the first events of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games will begin in Milan-Cortina, two days before the official opening ceremony. The opportunity to start the curling competition, with four matches on the program. On Thursday and Friday, ice hockey, snowboarding and figure skating events will also begin.
Friday, the opening ceremony promises to be sumptuous. This will be held simultaneously on four separate sites: at the San Siro stadium in Milan, in Livigno, in Cortina d’Ampezzo and in Predazzo. A choice made to allow as many athletes as possible to participate in the celebration despite sometimes very distant competition locations. Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli were chosen to headline the show.
This opening ceremony will then launch the 16 days of official competition, with 16 disciplines on the program. Eyes will be particularly focused on the biathlon events, where the Tricolores are used to shining. Lou Jeanmonnot, Émilien Jacquelin, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Quentin Fillon Maillet will be eagerly awaited, with several potential medals up for grabs from Sunday February 8 to Saturday February 21.
116 events organized
In total, 735 charms will be distributed during the 116 events organized. In 2022 in Beijing, the French delegation brought back 14, a figure slightly lower than the two previous editions, in Pyeongchang and Sochi, where it won 15, which remains a record.
This year, the objectives are ambitious. During the presentation of the French Olympic and Paralympic team last October, Yann Cucherat, high performance manager at the National Sports Agency, announced that he was targeting a total of 21 medals, or 50% more than in 2022. Enough to place France in the top 5 of the medal table. A high but achievable goal according to predictions made by the Olympic medal forecast site. The Blues now have 19 days to achieve this.
