Don’t Miss These Winter Olympic Games That Are Happening Before the Opening Ceremony
The official Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games isn't until Friday afternoon, but several of the tournament's most popular sports have already begun.
There simply isn't enough time to fit everything into the official three-week period, so many events have already started across Italy's new Olympic venues. Every event is available to stream on Peacock's dedicated Olympic page, though a Peacock Premium subscription is needed for most live coverage.
Curling Was The First Event To Kick Off the Olympic Games
Given how many teams compete in Olympic curling, and how long the tournament can run for, the event was given a small head-start and commenced on Wednesday evening with the first round robin of mixed doubles.
Sweden scored a decisive victory over South Korea, one of only two national teams to reach a score of ten points—alongside Canada, who beat Czechia 10-5. Great Britain and Switzerland also won their rounds, taking home victories over Norway and Estonia, respectively.
The remaining round robins are taking place today, February 5. Team GB and Sweden continue their winning streak, while Team USA won their first match-up against Norway with a score of 8-6.
The mixed doubles curling will continue throughout Friday morning and afternoon, with Team USA playing their matches against Canada and Czechia.
Women's Ice Hockey is Taking Place Today
The second of this year's Winter Olympic sports is women's ice hockey, which starts on February 5 with Groups A & B holding their first matches throughout the day. Team USA is matched against Czechia in Group A, whom they beat in the quarterfinals back in 2022 before going on to secure a silver medal.
Finland and Canada are also featured in Group A; they were coincidentally, the gold and bronze medal winners at the last Winter Olympics. That's going to make it a competitive run for Team USA in this sport, but the team has a very strong reputation on the global stage.
Finally, the men's big air snowboarding qualifications will take place at 19.30 local time this evening (14.30 p.m. ET).