The 2026 Winter Olympics they are bringing in thousands the athletes from all over the world together for more than two weeks competing on snow and ice. From athletes and events to records and costs, the Games are a gold mine for statistics.
Here are the 2026 Winter Olympics by the numbers:
2: The previous number of times Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics
Italy first hosted the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, and then in Turin in 2006.
The country has also hosted the Summer Olympics once, in Rome in 1960.
8,494: The venues for the Winter Olympics will cover square kilometers
The 2026 Games will be the first Olympic Games co-hosted by two cities, with competitions taking place in 13 venues in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The dual host city means it will become The most widespread games in Olympic historyAccording to the International Olympic Committee, it covers almost 8,500 square kilometers of northern Italy.
Milan and Cortina are about 250 kilometers by road, almost a five-hour drive.
“This approach makes it possible to maximize the use of existing premises, reducing the need for new construction and thereby reducing the carbon footprint,” said an IOC. press release.
Of the 13 venues, 11 will be existing or temporary, with the exception of a new 16,000-seat ice hockey stadium that has been under construction for about two years. The abandoned Porta Romana train yard is also seeing a makeover International Olympic Committee. Milan’s Olympic Village will be at the games, later converted into housing units for 1,700 students.
92: The National Olympic Committee participates
They compete like athletes their “National Olympic Committee” representatives rather than as a country.
Russia and Belarus were banned from competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics because of the war in Ukraine, a policy that enters this year’s Games, as do the athletes.”Individual neutral athletes“under a neutral flag.
2,916: the total number of athletes who will compete
according to Data from the International Olympic Committeeapproximately 2,916 athletes will compete in this year’s Winter Games.
The USA will have the largest presence at the Winter Olympics with 235 athletes (including three alternate athletes), followed by Canada (211 athletes) and host Italy (195 athletes).
There were only 1,801 athletes at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville (France). Participation has grown over the decades.
At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, the decline in athlete participation was brief.
232: Athletes competing for Team USA
A total of 232 athletes and three substitute athletes He will compete for Team USA, along with 98 Olympians who have won a combined 22 gold medals. US Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
Seven athletes will make their fifth appearance, including bobsledders Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor, snowboarder Nick Baumgartner and alpine skier Faye Thelen. Lindsey VonnFigure skater Evan Bates and ice hockey player Hilary Knight.
Meanwhile, 32 athletes from the list competed in the Youth Olympic Games, and 20 of them would make their Olympic debut in Milano Cortina. The 232-athlete roster is expected to be the largest U.S. Winter Olympic team ever, surpassing the 228 who competed in PyeongChang 2018.
Find the full list of US Olympic athletes:
8: New events will debut at the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina
Athletes will compete in 116 events in 16 Olympic disciplines and six Paralympic sports. The 2026 Games will introduce ski mountaineering – known as skimo – as a new sport, along with eight new events:
- Men’s sprint ski
- Women’s sprint ski
- Mixed relay in skimo
- Men’s double moguls in freestyle skiing
- Women’s double moguls in freestyle skiing
- Women’s doubles luge
- Mixed gender team in skeleton
- Women’s big hill in ski jumping
2 million: Fans attending the Winter Olympics
United States diplomatic officers in Italy asked the Americans book earlyas the organizers expect around 2 million people to descend on the venues in northern Italy to attend the Games.
Tickets range from $30 for cross-country skiing to nearly $1,400 for the figure skating exhibition gala. A full schedule of events can be found here here.
CBS News will continue to crunch the numbers for the Paralympic Games after the announcement of the qualified athletes on March 2nd.