The first competitions of the 2026 Olympics have started

The first competitions of the 2026 Winter Olympics started on February 4 in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The tournament was opened by the first four matches of the mixed doubles curling tournament. They are held between the national teams of Sweden and South Korea, Canada and the Czech Republic, Estonia and Switzerland, as well as Great Britain and Norway.

On Thursday, February 5, the continuation of the curling tournament, four group stage matches of the women's hockey tournament (Sweden — Germany, Italy — France, USA — Czech Republic, Finland — Canada) and the qualification in Big Air for snowboarders will take place. Russian athletes do not participate in these disciplines.

The opening ceremony of the Games is scheduled for February 6.

A lucky number: who will represent Russia at the 2026 Olympics

Our representatives reached Milan in only seven sports.

Earlier in the day, La Repubblica newspaper reported that the organizers of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan were offering to buy two tickets for the price of one because of the unfilled seats. According to the publication, up to 10,000 seats may remain empty at the ceremony, and a special promotion has been launched. Tickets for the event range from €260 to €2026.

Yesterday it became known that Russian will be one of the eight working languages at the upcoming Olympic Games in Italy. In addition to Russian, the list of working languages also includes Italian, French, German, English, Japanese, Korean, as well as Chinese, in particular the Mandarin dialect.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.