Watch: Savannah Guthrie Pulls Out of Hosting Winter Olympics 2026 After Mom Goes MissingCue the trumpets, the 2026 Winter Olympics have arrived. Indeed, the Milano Cortina Games will officially welcome its more than 3,500 athletes with star-studded performances and standard fanfare during the traditional Opening Ceremony, kicking off Friday, Feb. 6 from Italy's historic San Siro Stadium. The three-hour festivities-which will include appearances by Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and The White Lotus alum Sabrina Impacciatore-will air live on NBC and stream on Peacock and NBC Olympics platforms, including the official website, starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. The ceremony will then re-air for U.S. audiences in primetime at 8 p.m. ET. Though Savannah Guthrie was originally set to lead the coverage of the Opening Ceremony for NBC, she stepped back earlier this week amid the search for her missing mom Nancy Guthrie. Her cohost Terry Gannon will now stand alongside Mary Carillo, and the pair will be joined by three-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. read2026 Olympic Athletes Unveil Their New Team USA Gear in "Awesome" Video Haul"The Olympics have been such a huge part of my life, and to return in this new role-celebrating the athletes, the energy, and the incredible backdrop of Italy-is truly an honor," Shaun said in a statement. "I know what that moment means when the world is watching, and I can't wait to help bring that magic to everyone at home." Throughout the Games, athletes like Lindsey Vonn and Chloe Kim will be vying for gold in their downhill events from the mountains of Cortina, while curler Korey Dropkin and speedskater Jordan Stolz will compete in their ice sports in Milan. Maja Hitij/Getty ImagesGiven the two host cities, the Olympics will light two cauldrons during the Opening Ceremony for the first time ever-one in Cortina's Piazza Dibona and the other at the Arco della Pace in Milan-in order to symbolize the harmony between the two locations. And while the Games won't award its first medal until Feb. 7, many sports have already started their international competition, with preliminary rounds of alpine skiing, curling, ski jumping, snowboarding, figure skating and ice hockey kicking off earlier this week. Ahead of the Opening Ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. ET, read on to meet some of the exciting members of Team USA. Mikaela Shiffrin, Alpine SkiingShiffrin may be a three-time Olympic medalist, but the 30-year-old skier is looking for redemption heading into her fourth Olympics after her disappointing results at the 2022 Beijing Games and a scary crash in November 2024, in which she suffered a puncture to her abdomen that required surgery to repair. "I feel very aware of all the things that could happen that I can't expect," Shiffrin told TIME in December. "I know very well that we could do everything right on paper and it might not end up with a medal. But I feel really connected with my coaches, with the staff, with everyone around me, and that's building in a way that, whatever comes up, we'll be able to handle it together. That's the best I can do." Shiffrin's support team has long included Norwegian skier Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, but now she's engaged to her fellow Alpine specialist. "He's positive, he's telling me, 'Just remember, it's going to be OK,'" she told Olympics.com. "And especially last season, there were some moments where I really questioned why I was trying to return and if that was too much, too soon, if it's not possible. And he was like, 'Hey, you know yourself better. You're trying your hardest. If it doesn't work, that's also OK.'" Lindsey Vonn, Alpine SkiingPlagued by knee injuries, Vonn retired from competition in 2019 after competing in five Winter Olympics, winning gold in downhill and bronze in Super-G in 2010 and adding another bronze in downhill in 2018. But after undergoing a life-changing partial right knee-replacement in 2024 that left her free from pain for the first time since her first knee surgery in 2013, she felt that familiar need for speed. "Board calls are nice, but they're not really the same as downhill," the 41-year-old told NBC News in December. "And investing is great, but it's also not the same. I built a great life outside of skiing, but there will never be anything like skiing, and I fully understand that, and I'm comfortable with that. But I'm definitely going to enjoy this last bit of adrenaline, because I won't get it back." When Vonn crashed during a Jan. 30 World Cup race in Switzerland and had to be airlifted off the mountain, that could have spelled curtains for her comeback. But the veteran athlete, who previously said she was "willing to risk everything," declared herself fit enough to compete in the women's downhill Feb. 8 in Cortina d'Ampezzo (which is hosting skiing, snowboarding and sliding sports, while skating, curling, etc. will take place in Milan), despite suffering a ruptured left ACL. "I am not letting this slip through my fing