Three countries will be making their Winter Olympic debuts at the 2026 Games, the African nations of Benin and Guinea Bissau along with the United Arab Emirates. But with the established winter sport nations such as Norway,
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games begin on February 6 and will run until February 22, turning northern Italy into the global center of winter sport. This year’s edition is the 25th Winter Olympics since the inaugural Games in Chamonix in 1924.
Bissau, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the Middle East, are making their Winter Olympic debuts, while North Korea has not received an invitation. The exclusion is not due to political reasons or sanctions from the International Olympic Committee (IOC),