Milan Cortina Games come to a close

By WTOP Staff
February 22, 2026 | 8:53 PM

A performer participates in the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Athletes from the United States attend the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

President of the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur Region Renaud Muselier, right, and President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region Fabrice Pannekoucke wave the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Artists perform during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The Olympic rings stand out during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Fireworks light up during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Nyla performs during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Singer Achille Lauro performs during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Major Lazer performs during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

President of the Milan Cortina 2026 foundation Giovanni Malago, left, listens as IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, speaks during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

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It’s official: The Milan Cortina Games are over.

The next iteration of the Winter Olympics won’t be until 2030, when they’ll be held in France.

Here’s a look back at the closing ceremony, a 2.5-hour event that featured a variety of performances for attending athletes and eventgoers.

Transgender women athletes banned from female Olympic events by new IOC policy

March 26, 2026 | 6:11 PM

GENEVA (AP) — Transgender women athletes are now excluded from women's events at the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. “Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females,” the International Olympic Committee said, to be determined by a mandatory gene test once in an athlete's career. It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games, though weightlifter Laurel Hubbard did at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 without winning a medal. The eligibility policy that will apply from the L.A. Olympics in July 2028 “protects fairness, safety and integrity in the female category,” the IOC said.

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Milan Cortina Olympics were most-watched Winter Games since 2014 with 96% more viewers than Beijing