The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened on February 6, 2026, with a vibrant ceremony split across Italy, and it doubles as one of the year's biggest family TV events. Andrea Bocelli and Mariah Carey performed during the opening, which unfolded across venues in Milan and the ski town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, per the BBC, February 6. The Games run through February 22, with coverage across BBC TV and iPlayer in the UK.
Unlike a single-stadium opener, this ceremony spread across northern Italy — a first for the Winter Olympics. Team GB's flagbearers were figure skater Lilah Fear, who marched in Milan, and bobsledder Brad Hall, who carried the flag in Cortina, per the BBC, February 5. NBC and Peacock carried the Games in the United States.
Why the opening ceremony works for families
Award-show glitz meets sport in an Olympic opener: parade of nations, musical performances, and the lighting of the cauldron, all wrapped into a single prime-time broadcast. The BBC's coverage of the ceremony began at 18:30 GMT on BBC Two and iPlayer, per the BBC's viewer guide. For parents, it is a rare shared-screen event — no age ratings needed, and the time-zone-friendly evening schedule in Europe made live viewing easy across the continent.
Viewer interest was already high going in. The BBC scheduled full daily coverage across its networks, and NBCUniversal promoted the Games as its first Winter Olympics built for both broadcast and streaming, per the BBC media centre announcement ahead of the Games.
What should families watch first?
Figure skating, snowboarding and freestyle skiing tend to be the most kid-friendly draws, with short run-times and big, easy-to-grasp personalities. Team GB's Lilah Fear competes in the ice dance competition with partner Lewis Gibson, one of Britain's strongest medal hopes, per the BBC's Games preview.
- Opening ceremony: February 6, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo
- Performers: Andrea Bocelli and Mariah Carey
- Closing ceremony: February 22
- UK coverage: BBC Two and iPlayer, from 18:30 GMT on ceremony day
One practical note for planners: the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics drew a global broadcast audience above two billion, and early indicators suggested Italy's edition would land in similar territory, per IOC audience reports cited in BBC coverage of Olympic broadcasting. Either way, for two February weeks the biggest show on television is one the whole household can agree on.
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