For the first time in Winter Olympics history, two cauldrons will be extinguished simultaneously in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — World records, first-time medals and unforgettable competitions were the highlights of the Milan Cortina Winter Games.
More than two weeks of competition have come and gone, with it Olympic dreams and comebacks achieved. The Closing Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will mark the official end of the competition on Sunday.
The event will take place at the Verona Olympic Arena, an iconic Italian venue and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Verona is also known for its ties to William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
A total of 116 medal events have been held in eight Olympic sports across 16 disciplines, including the debut of ski mountaineering this year, over the course of 17 days of competition.
The Closing Ceremony will extinguish the two Olympic flames lit during the Opening Ceremony and will conduct an official handover to the next host city for 2030.
Here’s what to know about the event.
When is the Closing Ceremony?
The Closing Ceremony will take place on Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
How long is the Closing Ceremony?
The event will last about 2.5 hours, according to the official Olympics page.
What happens during the Closing Ceremony?
The Closing Ceremony pays tribute to all the participants with a giant celebration. Like the Opening Ceremony, there will be a parade of athletes from the delegations in the Games.
They will enter en masse behind a pair of flag bearers from each of the 92 participating nations, including biathlete Lisa Vittozzi and speedskater Davide Ghiotto for host Italy, and hockey player Hilary Knight and ice dancer Evan Bates for the United States – all gold medal winners.
For the first time in Winter Olympics history, two cauldrons will be extinguished simultaneously in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The ceremony will also see the lowering of the Olympic flag and the official handover to the next host city, marking the start of a 4-year countdown to the next Games.
The flag will be passed to International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry by the mayors of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Coventry will pass it on to a representative of the next host city. The first-ever handover ceremony took place at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but became a staple of the Games at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
A light show will also be featured in place of fireworks, which are not allowed in Verona to protect animals from being disturbed.
Photos from the Closing Ceremony of Milan Cortina Olympics
Where are the next Winter Olympics?
As the competition wraps up Sunday, fans may be wondering when and where the next Winter Olympics will be held.
France is set to host the 2030 Winter Games.
The competition will return to France for the first time in 38 years, with the country hosting its most recent Winter Olympics in Albertville in 1992. It will be the fourth time the Winter Games have been held in France.
The Winter Games are scheduled for Feb. 1 to Feb. 17, 2030. The Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 1 to March 10, 2030.
Final details about the next games are yet to be determined, but the master plan for the French Alps Winter Olympics will be mapped out at four regions: Haute Savoie, Savoie, Briançon and Nice.
- Haute Savoie Zone: Cross-country skiing (La Clusaz), Biathlon (Le Grand Bornand), Olympic Village
- Savoie Zone: Alpine skiing (Courchevel, Méribel), Ski jumping (Courchevel), Nordic combined (Courchevel, Méribel), sliding sports (La Plagne), Olympic Villages (Bozel, La Plagne)
- Briançon Zone: Freestyle skiing and snowboarding (Serre Chevalier, Montgenèvre), Olympic Village (Briançon)
- Nice Zone: Ice hockey (two arenas), Figure skating and Short track speedskating, Curling, International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre and Closing Ceremony
Speedskating could be held outside France, though that is currently unconfirmed. The Opening Ceremony venues are also unknown.
Who is performing?
Like the Opening Ceremony, the event will also have key performances and appearances.
The 2-and-half hour ceremony will celebrate Italian music and dance, both classic and contemporary, headlining internationally acclaimed ballet dancer Roberto Bolle along with popular Italian singer Achille Lauro and DJ Gaby Ponte. Lauro is from Verona.
How to watch the Closing Ceremony
The 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony will take place Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET. It can be watched live on NBC and streamed on Peacock. The event is scheduled to run until 5 p.m. ET, but the Opening Ceremony to start the games ran more than an hour longer than anticipated.
The ceremony will rebroadcast during primetime at 9 p.m. ET on both NBC and Peacock.
Why are there Olympics every two years?
For most of the 20th century, the Winter and Summer Olympics were held in the same year, then repeated every four years.
However, things changed in 1994, when the Winter and Summer games were split and held every two years instead. The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer, Norway, followed by the Summer Games in 1996 in Atlanta.
The decision to break the 70-year-old tradition came after the International Olympic Committee amended the Olympic Charter to separate the games.
Since 1994, the Summer and Winter Olympics have been held every four years, respectively. The four-year period that elapses between Olympic Games is called an “Olympiad.”
Summer Games are held in the first year of the Olympiad, while the Winter Games are held in the third year of that time period.
There have been a few times that the Olympic Games were canceled or rescheduled, usually due to war or a global factor like the COVID-19 pandemic.