(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The 25th Winter Olympics are almost here and the sporting event will see 2,871 athletes from 92 nations compete across 116 events – here’s everything you need to know.

Following the success of hockey romance Heated Rivalry, people might be a little more interested in the world of winter sport than they were previously…

Outsports has actually identified that this year there are a record number of out LGBTQ Olympians set to compete at the Winter Games, with 44 queer athletes from multiple countries taking part.

A real-life Heated Rivalry is set to take place at the Games, with married skeleton sliders Kim Meylemans and Nicole Silveira set to face off against each other.

Meylemans represents Belgium while Silveira represents Brazil, with the pair saying ahead of the competition: “It feels extra special to potentially compete as a married couple.”

The 2026 Winter Olympics is known as Milano Cortina 2026 for a reason and will be held across northern Italy between February 6 and 22.

Interestingly, according to ESPN, it is actually the first Olympics to be officially co-hosted by more than one city.

The iconic city of Milan, best known as a central hub for fashion, design, art and culture, will host several sporting events including figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating.

Cortina d’Ampezzo, a town in the heart of Alps, is considerably smaller than Milan and will be where the bobsled, skeleton, luge, alpine skiing and curling will all take place.

Valtellina, Val di Fiemme and Verona will also host various sporting events during the course of the Games.

The opening ceremony will take place at the San Siro Stadium, located in Milan’s San Siro district, which has a 75,817 capacity and is the largest stadium in Italy, as well as one of the biggest in Europe.

It is anticipated to feature more than 1,300 performers, with appearances from music legends like Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli.

In the UK, subscribers of TNT Sport and Discovery+ can watch the full 2026 Winter Olympics, with more than 850 hours of coverage across all the sports.

The BBC will also have coverage of all the major events from 9am to 10pm each day of the Games.

Olympics fans in the US can watch the Games televised exclusively on NBC, as well as on NBC’s streaming service Peacock.

Please login or register to comment on this story.