Winter Olympics 2026 opening ceremony time and TV schedule for Feb. 6–22
The Winter Olympics 2026 officially begin Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, with the opening ceremony staged at San Siro in Milan and a simultaneous celebration element in Cortina d’Ampezzo. For viewers in the U.S., the most important timing detail is that the ceremony is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET, with a separate prime-time presentation at 8:00 p.m. ET.
With events spread across northern Italy, the daily rhythm of the Olympics schedule 2026 will skew earlier than many U.S. viewers are used to—especially for medal sessions that land in the morning or early afternoon in Italy.
Olympics opening ceremony time (ET)
The Olympics opening ceremony time for the 2026 Winter Games is tied to an 8:00 p.m. local start in Italy on Feb. 6. That converts to:
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Live ceremony start: 2:00 p.m. ET (Friday, Feb. 6, 2026)
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Prime-time show window: 8:00 p.m. ET (Friday night)
If you’re searching “what time is the Olympics opening ceremony” or “olympic opening ceremony 2026 time,” those are the two practical answers: 2 p.m. ET live, 8 p.m. ET prime time.
Winter Olympics 2026: the key dates that shape the schedule
The 2026 Olympics run Feb. 6–22, with competitions spread across multiple venues from the Milan area into the mountains. That geography matters because it expands the range of start times and makes the day-to-day “Olympics TV schedule” feel like a long, rolling block rather than one nightly appointment.
Here’s a simple date map to anchor planning:
| Key moment (ET) | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Opening ceremony (live) | Fri, Feb. 6 | Parade of Nations, cauldron lighting |
| First full competition weekend | Feb. 7–8 | Heavy slate across snow and ice sports |
| Mid-Games peak | Feb. 12–16 | Biggest overlap of marquee events |
| Closing ceremony | Sun, Feb. 22 | Final medals wrap and handoff |
Exact medal-event times will vary day to day, but this outline helps when you’re deciding which days to clear your calendar.
Olympics schedule 2026: what time will events air in ET?
Italy is six hours ahead of Eastern Time in February, so many finals that happen in the evening locally can land in the late morning or early afternoon ET. Conversely, morning sessions in Italy can fall into the very early morning ET window.
A reliable way to think about it:
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Italy afternoon → U.S. morning
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Italy evening → U.S. early afternoon
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Italy morning → U.S. overnight / early morning
If you’re trying to catch specific sports live, expect plenty of morning-to-afternoon ET viewing, with nightly recap programming designed for prime-time habits.
Where to watch the 2026 Olympics opening ceremony
In the U.S., the Winter Olympics 2026 are carried by the country’s official rights-holding TV network and its companion cable channels, with streaming available through the broadcaster’s subscription streaming service and authenticated apps.
If your search terms include “where to watch olympics schedule 2026” or “olympics tv schedule,” the practical steps are:
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Confirm your local channel lineup includes the rights-holder’s main network station.
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If you stream TV, verify your package includes that local station feed (this varies by city).
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For live streaming, confirm you have access to the rights-holder’s streaming service on your device.
“NBC Olympics” and how the TV schedule is typically organized
Viewers looking for “NBC Olympics” coverage can expect the familiar structure: live daytime windows for marquee events, plus a curated prime-time show that blends top finals, highlights, and features. The opening ceremony follows that exact pattern with a live daytime airing (2 p.m. ET) and a prime-time presentation (8 p.m. ET).
The biggest trap is assuming every headline event will be in prime time. Because of the time difference, some of the most important finals may happen earlier in the day ET, then appear again in edited form at night.
What to watch for after the opening ceremony
Once the cauldron is lit, the schedule accelerates quickly. The first weekend usually delivers the fastest jump from pageantry to medals, and it’s also when coverage choices become clear—what the broadcaster shows live versus what it holds for prime time.
If you’re building a viewing plan for “superbowl sunday” weekend overlap, note that Sunday, Feb. 8 is both an Olympics competition day and Super Bowl day in the U.S., so many viewers will lean on replays, highlights, and on-demand streams for Olympic events that day.
Sources consulted: International Olympic Committee, Reuters, Axios, NBC Olympics
