Winter Olympics 2026 live: Team GB curling updates and controversy over penis injections ahead of Opening Ceremony
The Winter Olympics officially get underway on Friday 6 January with the Opening Ceremony
The Winter Olympics officially kick off today, with the Opening Ceremony celebrating the start of two weeks of the very best of winter sport.
The main Opening Ceremony takes place in Milan’s San Siro Stadium, one of the historic site’s final events before it is slated to be torn down.
But due to the spread-out nature of these Games - taking place all across northern Italy - there will also be athlete parades in the mountain clusters, including Cortina, where the curling, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge all take place.
This Opening Ceremony has taken ‘Harmony’ as its theme, and will celebrate the two main sites hosting this Games: Milan and Cortina, which also hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics.
Plenty of stars will be in action at tonight’s ceremony, and not just the athletes - Mariah Carey, legendary singer Andrea Bocelli, and Grammy-nominated pianist Lang Lang are all set to perform.
Follow all the action with The Independent’s live blog below:
Which sports are in the Winter Olympics? Full list of Milano Cortina 2026 events
There are 16 sports on the programme this year, including one which has never featured at an Olympics before, ski mountaineering, and new events in existing disciplines: a mixed team event in skeleton, women’s doubles in luge, and a men’s super team events in large hill ski jumping. The alpine mixed team parallel event has been dropped and replaced by men’s and women’s combined event.
Highlights include events in Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country skiing and ice hockey:
Which sports are in the Winter Olympics? Full list of Milano-Cortina 2026 events
Winter Olympics Day 1
We’ve had curling, ice hockey and figure skating starting early but tomorrow will see the first day of Winter Olympics action proper.
Luge, speed skating, speed jumping and snowboarding events will all begin tomorrow, while the curling and hockey events continue too.
Skiing governing body responds to penis-enlargement talk at Winter Olympics
World skiing’s governing body has dismissed the idea of ski jumpers injecting hyaluronic acid into their penises to gain a competitive advantage as a “wild rumour”.
One of the Olympics’ strangest sagas began when German outlet Bild reported talk within the ski jumping community of the practice allegedly being used to enlarge athletes’ measurements, thereby allowing them to use a larger and more aerodynamic suit in competition.
While there is no evidence of the practice being used and no allegations against any ski jumpers, the topic attained wider prominence when it was raised at a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) press conference on Thursday. Wada said it would look into the claims.
Skiing governing body responds to penis-enlargement talk at Winter Olympics
How Team GB overcame power cuts and delays to make winning start in curling campaign
It may not have been the serene opening night Olympic organisers hoped for, but Team GB’s Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds made a dream start in their bid for curling gold.
The mixed doubles pair were among the first eight athletes to compete at the Winter Olympic Games but their opening match was disrupted by a partial power cut after just five minutes.
The technical gremlins caused a short delay as staff at the Cortina Curling Stadium scrambled to fix the issue, in what proved to be another logistical headache for Olympic officials.
How Team GB overcame power cuts and delays to make winning start in curling campaign
Highlights: Team GB beat South Korea in Mixed Doubles Curling
Who will perform at the Opening Ceremony?
Plenty of stars will be in action at tonight’s ceremony, and not just the athletes.
Mariah Carey is set to headline, although it’s not yet been revealed if she will perform “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, with rumours circulating that she will perform a well-known song in Italian.
Andrea Bocelli, one of Italy’s most internationally renowned singers, will return to the Olympic stage after previously performing at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Games in Turin. Over the course of his operatic career, the celebrated tenor has earned five Grammy Award nominations.
The likes of Snoop Dogg, who is Team USA’s first honorary coach and also part of NBC’s coverage team, will also make an appearance.
How can I watch the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony?
TNT Sports and streaming service discovery+ will broadcast every moment of the Winter Olympics, and will provide coverage of and build-up to the Opening Ceremony from 5.30pm GMT.
Viewers in the UK can also watch the Opening Ceremony live on the BBC. Coverage begins on BBC Two at 6:30pm GMT and will run until 10pm.
The ceremony begins at 7pm GMT.
What time is the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
The Winter Olympics officially kick off today, with the Opening Ceremony celebrating the start of two weeks of the very best of winter sport.
The main Opening Ceremony takes place in Milan’s San Siro Stadium, one of the historic site’s final events before it is slated to be torn down.
But due to the spread-out nature of these Games - taking place all across northern Italy - there will also be athlete parades in the mountain clusters, including Cortina, where the curling, bobsleigh, skeleton and luge all take place.
This Opening Ceremony has taken ‘Harmony’ as its theme, and will celebrate the two main sites hosting this Games: Milan and Cortina, which also hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics.
What time is the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
USA ‘honorary coach’ Snoop Dogg requests selfie with British curlers at Winter Olympics
British curler Bruce Mouat was delighted to have a picture request from rapper Snoop Dogg at Friday’s curling mixed doubles match in Cortina.
Mouat, along with his partner Jennifer Dodds, maintained an unbeaten record so far in the competition with a 7-4 win over Sweden, but he was just as pleased to meet the US superstar.
“We saw him at half-time. We saw he was sat next to (US curler) Cory (Thiesse)’s mum. He asked for a photo with us, so I am feeling pretty good about myself,” said Mouat.
Snoop Dogg requests photo with British curlers at Winter Olympics
Team GB beat South Korea in Mixed Doubles Curling
Nothing South Korea could do there, with Team GB in control from the off and brilliant throughout, Dodds in particular continuing to deliver.
South Korea made a couple of high-profile mistakes, but they didn’t have enough to challenge.
Team GB will face the USA and Canada tomorrow, with the US undefeated and Canada having only lost to their North American counterparts so far.
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