when does the olympic ceremony start

The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET (20:00 local time in Milan) on Friday, 6 February 2026, with coverage running for about three hours and a primetime encore at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Quick Scoop

• Official date: Friday, 6 February 2026.

• Local time in Milan (San Siro Stadium): 20:00 (8 p.m.) Central European Time.

• U.S. live start time: 2 p.m. Eastern Time, with a short pre‑show from about 1:40 p.m. ET.

• Expected duration: Around three hours for the full ceremony.

• Primetime replay: Enhanced encore at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streaming platforms like Peacock.

Where to watch (brief)

• TV: NBC in the United States will carry the live ceremony and the primetime encore.

• Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, and NBC Sports / NBC apps will stream the event live and on replay.

If you’re in Europe, plan for an evening stadium show around 8 p.m. local time; if you’re in North America, think early‑afternoon live viewing with a classic evening replay in primetime.

TL;DR: The Olympic opening ceremony starts at 20:00 in Milan (2 p.m. ET), lasts about three hours, and you can catch a primetime encore at 8 p.m. ET if you miss it live.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.