The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony has concluded. The festivities featured performances from Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, 3,000 athletes walking in the Parade of Nations, and not one but two Olympic cauldrons being lit. (One at Milan’s Arco della Pace, since Milan is serving as the main hub for this year’s Games, and the other in the Alpine city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, where events like skiing are taking place.) If you missed out on watching live, the Opening Ceremony will re-air in primetime tonight on NBC. Here’s what you need to know.
How to watch the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Date: Friday, Feb. 6
Time: primetime re-air from 8-11 PM ET
Location: San Siro Stadium, Milan
TV channels: NBC
Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NBC.com, and more
Where can I stream the Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
For $11/month, an ad-supported Peacock subscription lets you stream live sports and events airing on NBC, including the 2026 Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX, and more. Plus, you’ll get access to thousands of hours of shows and movies, including beloved sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
How to watch the 2026 Opening Ceremony on TV:
There will be two broadcasts of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony this Friday. You can tune in live from 2PM – 5PM ET on Friday afternoon, or catch the encore broadcast from 8PM – 11PM ET that night. Both broadcasts will air on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more.
With a live TV streaming service subscription or cable package, you can also catch all of NBC and Peacock’s Olympics coverage on NBC.com and via NBCOlympics.com or the NBC App, just by logging in with your provider.
DirecTV’s Entertainment tier gets you access to loads of channels where you can tune in to college and pro sports, the Winter Olympics, and more. Channels include ESPN, TNT, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS Sports Network, and, depending on where you live, local affiliates for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
Whichever package you choose, you’ll get unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN+’s new streaming tier, ESPN Unlimited.
DirecTV’s Entertainment tier package is $49.99 for your first month. But you can currently try all this out for free for 5 days. If you’re interested in trying out a live-TV streaming service for football season but aren’t ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV.
How to watch the Opening Ceremony in Milan without cable:
You can watch the Opening Ceremony live or on-demand on Peacock. If you already subscribe to a live TV streaming service or cable package, you should also be able to catch all of Peacock’s Olympics coverage on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app.
For $11/month, an ad-supported Peacock subscription lets you stream live sports and events airing on NBC, including the 2026 Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX and more. Plus, you’ll get access to thousands of hours of shows and movies, including beloved sitcoms such as Parks and Recreation and The Office, every Bravo show and much more.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who hosted the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Sportscaster Terry Gannon hosted coverage of the 2026 Winter Games Opening Ceremony. Former Olympic snowboarder Shaun White also made an appearance. NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico also participated remotely from San Francisco, where he’s pulling double duty covering the Olympics and prepping to call Super Bowl LX.
Who performed at the 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Mariah Carey, iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, actress Sabrina Impacciatore (The Paper, The White Lotus) and pianist Lang Lang performed at the Opening Ceremony.
Where is the 2026 Olympics Opening Ceremony being held?
The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony was held at Milan’s San Siro Stadium, home to football clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan. The Opening Ceremony will actually be one of the final events held at San Siro Stadium, which is set to be demolished sometime after the Games end.
