Above: Arena Di Verona during the night, in 2018. Photo by Claconvr on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
After a high-octane contest across Northern Italy, the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are coming to a beautiful end. With Norway dominating the Winter Olympics for the fourth consecutive time, the United States also delivered a breathtaking performance, winning 10 gold, 12 silver, and 7 bronze medals.
Arena di Verona, also known as the Verona Arena, will host the much-awaited grand finale of the 2026 Winter Olympics on February 22, 2026. This year's Olympics was one of the most exciting editions, not only because of the multi-city format, but also because it was a perfect blend of art, culture, history, and sports. Moreover, the beautifully designed arenas and nature's gift in the form of the Alps made it even more memorable.
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What to Expect: Performances & Highlights
The core concept of the Milano Cortina closing ceremony is "Beauty in Action". It is a tribute to beauty in all its forms, whether in sports, life, human relationships, or places. The most interesting fact about this event is that it would be the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics that the closing ceremony will take place inside the Roman Amphitheater named "Arena di Verona", which is also called "mini-colosseum."
Renowned Italian writer/director Alfredo Accatino will direct the closing ceremony, who is also the director of the Opening ceremony of the Upcoming Paralympic Winter Games, which will take place in the Arena di Verona. The artistic director states, "The athletes will be the real stars of the event."
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Interestingly, it will be one-of-a-kind events featuring a beautiful blend of music, art, and the spirit of sport, produced by an Italy-based events and production company called Filmmaster. Accatino has confirmed that the event will also be addressing the impact of climate change on the future Winter Games.
For the first time in history, two Olympic cauldrons will be extinguished simultaneously, in Milan and Cortina. An iconic moment of the handover to the representatives of the French Alps 2030, who will take over as the next hosts. And, there would be a medal ceremony specifically to award the women's 50 km classic mass start cross-country skiing.
When and where can you watch the Closing Ceremony?
The closing ceremony will take place on Sunday evening for the Italians at 7.30 pm (GMT), and West Coast Americans can watch it at 11:30 am (PST). The historical closing ceremony will be streamed on various platforms worldwide.
The official broadcasters of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony include a mix of global media giants and national networks. The ceremony will be filmed by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), which distributes the "world feed" to all rights-holding broadcasters. Here is the table.
| Region | Official Broadcasters | Broadcast Time (Local) |
| Italy (Host) | RAI, Warner Bros. Discovery | 20:00 / 20:30 CET |
| United States | NBC, Peacock | 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT |
| United Kingdom | BBC, Discovery+, TNT Sports | 7:00 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. GMT |
| Canada | CBC, TSN, RDS, Sportsnet | 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT |
| Brazil | TV Globo, CazéTV | 16:00 or 16:30 BRT |
| Germany | ARD, ZDF, Warner Bros. Discovery | 20:00 / 20:30 CET |
| France | France Télévisions, Warner Bros. Discovery | 20:00 / 20:30 CET |
| India | JioHotstar | 00:30 IST (Mon, 23 Feb) |
| China | China Media Group (CMG), Migu | 03:00 or 03:30 CST (Mon, 23 Feb) |
| Japan | Japan Consortium (NHK, Fuji TV, etc.) | 04:00 or 04:30 JST (Mon, 23 Feb) |
| South Korea | JTBC, Naver | 04:30 KST (Mon, 23 Feb) |
| Australia | Nine Network (Channel 9, 9Now) | 06:00 AEDT (Mon, 23 Feb) |
What are the ticket prices, and where can you buy them?
If you are lucky enough to be in Europe at the moment and want to witness the historic event in Verona, you can try buying tickets, but keep in mind that the chances of you getting one are as slim as an Asian team winning the FIFA World Cup. Besides, the prices are significantly higher than those for any regular sporting event, due to the arena's limited capacity.
However, you can still try logging in via the Official Milano Cortina 2026 website, and sales are still going on. The price of a ticket ranges from €950 (~$1,030 USD) to €2,900 (~$3,150 USD), which might not be inexpensive. Still, the experience would definitely be worth it. Moreover, the hospitality packages start at €1,800 ($2,120 USD) and include priority entry and lounge access.
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Please note that Italian law requires your tickets to be nominative. Hence, you will enter each attendee's name and pay by credit card. Also, your tickets would not be emailed as a PDF. Moreover, you must download the Ticket Milano Cortina 2026 app, and you will receive a secure QR code within 24 hours of the event.
