Greece's Olympic Team looks to skier Alexandros Ioannis Ginnis for its first medal in the Winter Games starting in the Italian Alps.

Here's what to know about the Parade of Nations in the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony and how the country order is determined.

Get the latest news on the Milan Cortina Olympics. The opening ceremony kicked off the 2026 Winter Games on Friday, Feb. 6.

The Winter Olympics began with a rare dual-city opening in Italy, with Greece leading tradition at the 25th Winter Games.

Every torch has a designer. For the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, that designer is MIT engineer and architect Carlo Ratti. A winter sports enthusiast, Ratti owns the architectural firm Carlo Ratti Associati and is originally from Turin,

Greece, as always, will be the first country introduced in the Parade of Nations for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

Americans who top the podium at the Milan Cortina Games will be in line for a $37,500 bonus. Their competitors could collect as much as $800,000.

The Olympic torch is a symbol of peace and unity , passed around the world in the spirit of co-operation, and for each Games, the host country designs a unique torch that often has references to a national landmark or a piece of history. Lighting the cauldron is a symbolic way to start the Games, and it is extinguished during the Closing Ceremony.

Many Olympic venues are left to decay after the events are over. See what these cities have done with the facilities after their games ended.

The start of the Winter Olympics is marked by the lighting of the Olympic cauldron by the torch that traveled from where it was lit in Olympia, Greece and then through Italy leading up to the games.