How to watch the Winter Olympics 2026 Opening Ceremony for free

While the competition at the Winter Olympics got started on Wednesday, the Opening Ceremony of the Milano-Cortina games will take place this afternoon.

In an exhibition known as “Armonia” (Harmony), host country Italy will present a show conceived by Marco Balich, who has 15 Olympic ceremonies on his resume, in addition to World Cup celebrations and more.

Balich told an Italian newspaper that the show celebrates the best of “Made in Italy” and puts an accent on “simplicity and authenticity.” It will utilize more than 1,300 performers, with 182 original designs, more than 1,400 costumes and 1,500 pairs of shoes, and 110 make-up artists and 70 hair stylists working behind the scenes.

By the end of the ceremony, two Olympic flames will officially be lit, signifying the games’ opening. It marks the first time there will be two Olympic flames; one will live in each host city — Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Both flames will be evolving structures inspired by the work of artist Leonardo Da Vinci.

If you want to tune into the spectacle live, be it on Peacock or a live TV streaming service, we compiled everything you need to know below.

Winter Olympics opening ceremony 2026 time

The Winter Olympics opening ceremony begins today, Feb. 6, at 1:40 p.m. ET, and is expected to last roughly two hours.

How to watch the Winter Olympics 2026 opening ceremony for free

If you don’t have cable, you’ll need a live TV streaming service to stream the opening ceremonies live for free.

DIRECTV is our top pick for watching TV live for free — its five-day free trial includes NBC (plus every other channel you’ll need for the rest of the Winter Olympics). When the trial is over, you’ll pay as low as $49.99/month and gain access to over 90 live channels.

Sling TV is another affordable way to stream the Winter Olympics; its Select plan includes NBC and starts at $19.99/month.

How to watch the Olympics 2026 opening ceremony on Peacock:

The official streaming home of the 2026 Olympics is Peacock, the streaming service from NBCUniversal. This year, Peacock is broadcasting thousands of hours of live coverage, which includes all 116 medal events and every single event leading up to them.

Peacock costs $10.99/month with ads and $16.99/month without ads, and since the Olympics wrap up on Feb. 22, you’ll only need one month to watch the entire 2026 Games.

Who will appear during the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?

The President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, will appear to officially open the Olympic Games.

Performers announced for the opening ceremonies include Grammy award-winning pop star and R&B singer Mariah Carey; beloved Italian tenor Andrea Boccelli; Sabrina Impacciatore, the Italian actress who appeared in “The Paper” and “The White Lotus” Season 2; Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini; and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

Parade of Nations order: When will Team USA appear? Who are Team USA’s flag bearers?

As is tradition, Greece will lead off the parade of nations, as the birthplace of the Olympic Games, then countries will enter alphabetically — using the Italian name of each country to determine this — save for the United States, France, and Italy.

France will be the 91st of 92 countries to enter the opening ceremony as the host of 2030’s Winter Olympics, and the United States will enter right before them as Salt Lake City is set to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.

Speedskater Erin Jackson and bobsledder Frank Del Duca were chosen as flag bearers for Team USA.

Finally, the host country, Italy, will end the Parade of Nations.

When is the Olympics 2026 closing ceremony?

The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics will come to an end on Feb. 22 at 3:00 p.m. ET, when the closing ceremony will be broadcast live on Peacock.

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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.