While the Australian Olympic Team was in the midst of a campaign which brought unprecedented success, so too were Australia’s winter athletes as they produced a record-breaking 2023-24 World Cup season.

The Winter World Cup season saw Australian athletes clinch 50 World Cup medals (18 gold, 16 silver, 16 bronze), shattering the previous record of 35 medals set during the 2016-17 season.

So with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics just 500 days away and Australia’s best winter athletes priming themselves for the Games, check out the stunning locations and venues that are next in line to host all the Olympic action.

Antholz Valley

Sport: Biathlon
Venue: Anterselva Biathlon Arena

One of the most famous biathlon sport centres in the world, the Anterselva Biathlon Arena is situated in the Dolomites and is a 65km drive north of Cortina.

Home to six World Championships since 1975, there is 60km of tracks at varying levels to explore and the native language in the region is German. Every year the arena hosts the IBU Biathlon World Cup in January.

Bormio

Sports: Alpine Skiing, Ski Mountaineering
Venue: Stelvio Ski Centre

A recurring host of Alpine Skiing World Championships and World Cups, a magnificent Stelvio Ski Centre course awaits Olympians in the men’s alpine skiing event.

Stretching over 3.1km, featuring a total elevation change of 987m and a maximum gradient of 63%, they’re conditions which enable athletes to soar more than 40m in the air and to land at speeds exceeding 140 km/h.

It’ll also be the site for the sport of Ski Mountaineering’s Olympic debut, approximately 220km north-east of Milano and right near the Switzerland border.

Cortina d’Ampezzo

Sports: Bobsleigh, Curling, Skeleton, Alpine Skiing, Luge
Venues: Cortina Sliding Centre, Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre

The Winter Olympics is back in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 70 years after first hosting the multi-sport event in 1956. Located 350km north-east of Milano, Cortina will be one of two major hubs for these Games.

A new Sliding Centre is being installed for these Olympics, in place of the Sliding Centre that was used for the 1956 Olympics. The Bobsleigh, Skeleton, and Luge will all be on the track named after Eugenio Monti (ITA), the ‘Flying Redhead’ and dual Olympic bobsleigh champion.

The 1956 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony was held in the Cortina Ice Stadium, which becomes the Cotrina Curling Olympic Stadium in 2026.

After successfully hosting the women’s Alpine Skiing at the 1956 Olympics, the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre will crown another Olympic champion on its slopes.

Livigno

Sports: Freestyle Skiing, Snowboarding
Venues: Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park, Livigno Snow Park

Right in the Rhaetian Alps near the Swiss border and Bormio, the small town of Livigno will come alive with 26 Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding Olympic medal events in 2026.

Boasting more than 100km of ski slopes, situated upwards of 1.8km above sea level, it is a popular destination for top athletes to train.

Milano

Sports & Events: Opening Ceremony, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Short Track Speed Skating, Speed Skating
Venues: Milano Ice Skating Arena, Milano Ice Park, Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium

Twenty years after Italy last hosted the Winter Olympics in Torino, where Dale Begg-Smith and Alisa Camplin-Warner won gold and bronze for Australia respectively, Italy will welcome the world once again but for the first time at the San Siro.

A stadium renowned for its place in Italian football culture and hosting international artists, in 2026 it will mark 100 years since the San Siro Stadium first opened with a capacity of 35,000. Today, it holds more than 75,000 spectators.

Two ice hockey arenas will be used in Milano for the Games. The grand opening of the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena is set to take place during the Olympics. While a restoration of a trade fair centre creates the Milano Ice Park, a temporary venue for Ice Hockey and Speed Skating.

All the Figure Skating and Short Track Speed Skating will be staged in Milano’s Ice Skating Arena, a multipurpose venue.

Predazzo

Sports: Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping
Venue: Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium

Situated 82km south-west of Cortina, the hills of Predazzo will be home to the Ski Jumping and the ski jumping component of Nordic Combined – in a place that has more than 40 years of Ski Jumping history.

Tesero

Sports: Cross-Country Skiing, Nordic Combined
Venue: Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium

Cross-country skiers will set off and return at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. Its 19km of trails are always challenging and part of the trails are lit artificially, allowing for night time skiing.

The town is in an area 90km south-west of Cortina, close to Predazzo, that has sport at all times of the year including trekking, rock climbing and cycling.

Verona

Event: Closing Ceremony
Venue: Verona Olympic Arena

Last but not least the celebration of the Games will take place in Verona, 150km east of Milan. The Roman amphitheatre, first built in 30 AD, will come to life with the Olympic spirit.

It’s a venue that hosts the largest outdoor opera season in the world and welcomes more than 600,000 people annually.