Olympic Games (Winter)

Winter Olympics

The Winter Olympic Games are a large scale multi-sport competition held for those sports contested on snow and ice. As of 2022, there have been 24 editions of the Games – the first Winter Olympic Games were held in 1924 in Chamonix, France with a total of 16 nations competing in five sports across nine disciplines – Bobsleigh, Curling, Ice Hockey, Nordic Skiing and Skating. The last Winter Olympic Games took place in 2022 with 91 nations competing over 15 disciplines in seven sports.

The 15 disciplines that are currently part of the Winter Olympic Games programme include:

  • Alpine Skiing
  • Biathlon
  • Bobsleigh
  • Cross-country Skiing
  • Curling
  • Figure Skating
  • Freestyle Skating
  • Ice Hockey
  • Luge
  • Nordic Combined
  • Short track speed skating
  • Skeleton
  • Ski jumping
  • Snowboarding
  • Speed Skating

When are the Winter Olympics?

The Winter Olympics are held every four years. Following the Games’ inception in 1924 they were held every four years to 1936, before being halted for the Second World War. The Games’ restarted in 1948 and were held in the same year as the Summer Olympics up until 1992, before being held in alternating even-numbered years starting in 1994.

The next Winter Olympics will be held in 2026, between the 6th February and 22nd February 2026.


Where are the Winter Olympics?

The host of the Winter Olympics are chosen through a long bidding process. As of 2022, the Games have been hosted on three continents by thirteen countries, all across the Northern Hemisphere. The previous hosts are:

2022 – Beijing, China
2018 – Pyeongchang, South Korea
2014 – Sochi, Russia
2010 – Vancouver, Canada
2006 – Turin, Italy
2002 – Salt Lake City, USA
1998 – Nagano, Japan
1994 – Lillehammer, Norway
1992 – Albertville, France
1988 – Calgary, Canada
1984 – Sarajevo, Yugoslavia
1980 – Lake Placid, USA
1976 – Innsbruck, Austria
1972 – Sapporo, Japan
1968 – Grenoble, France
1964 – Innsbruck, Austria
1960 – Squaw Valley, USA
1956 – Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
1952 – Oslo, Norway
1948 – St. Moritz, Switzerland
1936 – Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
1932 – Lake Placid, USA
1928 – St. Moritz, Switzerland
1924 – Chamonix, France

The 2026 Winter Olympics will be jointly hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy, the third time Italy has hosted the event (1956 & 2006) and the second time Cortina d’Ampezzo has hosted (1956). The bid fought off another joint bid by Stockholm and Ã…re in Sweden.

The hosts of the 2030 Games have yet to be chosen but the two remaining bids are from the Salt Lake City in the United States and Sapporo in Japan.


Travel to the Winter Olympics

Thinking of travelling to the 2026 Games? There are three airports within the vicinity of Milan:

  • Milan Malpensa Airport is the second busiest airport in Italy and has a large number of services across Asia, Europe and North America. The airport is around 50 kilometres northwest of central Milan, with a train service connecting the airport with the city in 30-50 minutes.
  • The Orio al Serio International Airport (also known as Milan Bergamo Airport) is the third busiest international airport in Italy, located approximately 45 kilometres northeast of Milan. The airport primarily has low cost flights to Europe, although does offer some flights to North Africa. There are several coach and bus services that run to Milan from the airport.
  • Milan Linate Airport is the fifth busiest airport in Italy and has flights across continental Europe. The airport is just 8 kilometres east of the city and will soon have a metro service running between the two.

Cortina d’Ampezzo does not have its own airport, the two airports serving Venice are the nearest – Treviso Airport (86 miles away) and Venice Marco Polo Airport (92 miles away) which both primarily serve destinations in Europe.

Thinking of flying? Search & book your flights through Skyscanner here.


Hotels for the Winter Olympics

Use TripAdvisor to find some great places to stay in Milan or Cortina d’Ampezzo.

TripAdvisor

Further Information

Olympics Official Website


Last Updated on January 24, 2023 by Sports Tourist

Leave a Reply