The 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo start with competition day number -2. Group stage matches in mixed curling are on the program.
From the first day of the competition, on Wednesday, February 4, we bring you an overview of the most important things from the Olympics in Milan and Cortina in one place.
Follow with us minute by minute from day -2 of the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
Milan 2026 Olympics: Watch the Olympics minute by minute (online)
17:00 The IOC wants to select the organizers of the games in a more transparent way
The organizer of the 2036 Olympic Games should emerge from the selection process again. This was announced on Wednesday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which promised to return transparency to the selection process.
The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, starting on Friday, will be the last for a long time to be hosted by the bidding process. The 2028 Los Angeles Games, the 2030 French Alps Winter Games and the 2032 Brisbane Games did not have an official opponent. The reason was mainly the low number of people interested in the organization due to the increase in the price of the event.
“We are not interested in returning to the era of the expensive selection process before 2019, but the current one needs to be improved. We want to create transparent criteria that will be known well in advance.
Among them will be the issue of sports infrastructure, financial guarantees for those interested in the games, experience in organizing multi-sport events will be an added value,” said Kolinda Grabarová-Kitarovičová, the former president of Croatia, the head of the IOC working group for the selection of the organizers of the games, according to AFP on Wednesday.
16:30 An unexpected generous gift to the organizers of the 2034 Olympic Games
The organizers of the 2034 Winter Olympics received an unexpected gift. The event will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The “significant” financial gift was given to the organizers by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. The host of the 2034 Olympic Games is its strong stronghold.
According to the high representative of this church, Bishop Sean Douglas, in addition to the financial donation, the organizers will also receive access to facilities owned by the church and a lot of volunteer support. Utah 2034 organizing committee president Fraser Bullock said at a press conference in Milan before the start of the 2026 Olympics that this “very significant” contribution allowed them to begin preparations.
The 2034 Olympics will use several sports venues from the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, including Medals Plaza, which belongs to the church. This time, the large jumping bridge for the big air discipline in snowboarding will be located in the center of the city.
15:30 Preparations for the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps are over
Although they have not yet started in northern Italy this year’s Winter Olympicsbut the organizers of the following ones are said to be behind with preparations. The 2030 Olympics will be hosted by the French Alps, and according to the chairman of the coordination commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Pierre-Olivier Beckers, they are already late in the “land of the Gallic rooster”. According to him, they should speed up the pace of work and cooperate better.
Beckers pointed out that the French organizing team only started preparations in 2024, when President Emmanuel Macron officially confirmed the state’s financial support, which represents a shorter time window compared to other Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to significantly accelerate the pace of work in 2026.
“Due to the reduced time for preparations, which is not the fault of the organizing team, work remains behind on several key tasks, which will require significant acceleration,” Beckers said during the IOC’s pre-Olympic meeting in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“After the end of the Milan and Cortina Games, the world’s attention will quickly shift to 2030. Expectations will rise, the pace will accelerate, the scope of work is enormous and time will begin to run out inexorably. However, if you operate as a strong, trusting and collective team, guided by the vision and mission of the project, you can succeed,” he added.
15:20 The date of the Winter Olympics may change
In the future, the date of the Winter Olympics could be moved from the current February to January, which would also allow the Paralympics to be moved from March to February.
Before the start of the games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, it was announced by the International Olympic Committee, which is considering it as a response to global warming.
14:25 Slovak hockey players have already settled in the Olympic village
The Olympic Village in Milan welcomed the first Slovak athletes on Tuesday evening. The two floors of Block F accommodated hockey representatives who flew from Vienna to the center of the Olympic events.
Since Wednesday, the hockey players have been fully preparing for the Olympic games right in the venue.
Hockey players stayed in single and double rooms. Immediately after settling in, they headed to the dining room, which is only a few meters away from the accommodation of the Slovak expedition. On Wednesday, they had a team meeting and in the afternoon they had training.
“The rooms in the Olympic village are clean. They smell new. We have everything we need in the village,” Matúš Sukeľ told the portal olympic.sk, and his roommate Adam Liška added: “I slept very well the first night. The food is also tasty.”
Patrik Koch and Michal Ivan slightly adapted the room, as they lacked a table. “We made a makeshift one out of a dryer,” Koch said.
14:05 ICE will not be in Milan no operational role
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), known for its controversial immigration practices in the US, will have no operational role during the Winter Olympics in Italy.
This was stated by the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, who said that agents from the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division will work exclusively within the framework of US diplomatic missions and are not to perform any executive or police functions.
This information follows criticism and recommendations, for example from the mayor of Milan, who expressed his disapproval of the presence of ICE agents during the event, which will take place from February 6 to 22 in the Milan and Cortina area.
Piantedosi emphasized that fears about their presence are unfounded and that the security of the 2024 Olympics in Paris faced similar standards.
14:00 Heavy fall in training for the downhill
Initial training on the Stelvio slope for Saturday’s Olympic the convention was marked by a serious fall of the Norwegian representative Frederik Möller.
After a few minutes of treatment on the spot, he was transported from the slope to the hospital by helicopter. According to the first information, he has an injured hand.
The American Corchan-Siegle was the fastest, 16 hundredths of a second ahead of home hope Giovanni Franzoni, the third was Marco Odermatt, who was four tenths of a second behind.
12:50 Who will join the famous Triple Gold Club?
2026 Olympics is marked by the return of hockey players from the NHL for the first time since 2014, which opens up a chance for more to join the Triple Gold Club.
Olympic gold can bring membership to 13 players in Milan, including three Czechs and the first goalkeeper.
11:25 Skiing legends should light the Olympic flame
Italian skiing legends Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni will have the honor of lighting the fire at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Alberto Tomba and Lara Gutová Behramiová in Kronplatz 2024 (Author: TASR/AP)
The Italian Olympic Committee did not confirm the information and declared that the final decision on who will light the fire at the competition venue will be made at the last moment.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Tomba is set to light the fire at Milan’s Acro della Pace triumphal arch as the opening ceremony culminates at the nearby San Siro stadium.
At the same moment, Compagnoni is expected to light the fire in Piazza Dibona, the other main center of the games in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
11:10 Hurajt will take silver in Milan
During the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Slovakia will have reason to celebrate at least one medal.
As reminded by the Slovak Olympic and Sports Committee (SOŠV), former biathlete Pavol Hurajt will receive the silver Olympic medal from the Vancouver 2010 Games after sixteen long years.
The ceremony is scheduled for February 15 during the biathlon competitions in Anterselva.
11:00 Pellegrini will travel to Milan
The President of the Slovak Republic Peter Pellegrini will travel to Milan on Friday, where he will participate in the opening ceremony of the Slovak Olympic House and the Czech Olympic House together with the President of the Czech Republic, Peter Pavlo, as part of the work program.
At the same time, Slovak athletes will be supported during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, which will take place at the San Siro stadium. TASR was informed about this by the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic.
10:15 The athletes underwent doping tests
More than 90% of the athletes who will compete at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics have been tested for banned substances at least once before the start of the event. The International Testing Agency (ITA) reported on this on Tuesday.
Some 2,800 athletes from more than 90 countries will compete at the Games, which begin on Friday.
“The International Testing Agency (ITA) has concluded the pre-Olympic anti-doping program for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics and confirms that at least 92% of the athletes have completed at least one doping test before the Games,” the agency said.
8:40 a.m. Interview about the Italian hockey team
Italian ice hockey team will be the biggest outsider Olympic tournament in Milan. It was among the twelve participants as the home team, it will also play against Slovakia.
“On paper, the duel with Slovakia is the least demanding, but the scales are clearly tilted in favor of the Slovak team,” says journalist Daniele Amadasi in an interview for Sportnet.
Related article
The chances against Slovakia are low. According to the expert, an important tournament awaits the Italians only after the Olympics
7:00 Slovakian program for today
On today’s opening day number -2, there will be no Slovaks in action. Rebeka Jančová and Katarína Šrobová will be the first to perform in Milan and Cortina, who will complete the downhill training on February 5.
The complete program of Slovaks at the 2026 Olympics
7:00 Program ZOH
The first matches of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo will take place two days before the opening ceremony itself, when the first four duels in the group are played in the curling mix.
