The National Olympic Committee announces the details of the historic participation in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

The National Olympic Committee announced the details of the UAE’s first historic participation in the 26th edition of the Winter Olympics, which will be hosted by the cities of Milan and Cortina in Italy from February 6 to 22, with the participation of about 2,900 male and female athletes from various countries of the world competing for 114 sets of medals in 8 sports and 16 disciplines.
The UAE is participating in this tournament with both player Bera Hodson and player Alexandre Streje in the alpine skiing competitions, which are held over 3 days as part of the official program of the tournament, after they qualified according to approved international standards.
This came during the press conference held by the National Olympic Committee today in Dubai, in the presence of the Vice President of the Emirates Winter Sports Federation, Hamel Al Qubaisi, the Director of the Committee’s Technical and Sports Affairs Department, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, and the Chairman of the Skiing Committee of the Emirates Winter Sports Federation, Muhammad Khadem, while the player Alexander Stregi participated via video call.
The opening ceremony is scheduled to be held in four locations simultaneously, with Alexandre Stregui raising the UAE flag in Milan, while Bera Hodson will raise the UAE flag in Cortina.
Ahmed Al-Tayeb stressed that this participation represents a historic milestone in the journey of the UAE Olympic movement, and comes as an extension of the country’s participation in the Summer Olympics and Youth Olympic Games, and reflects the approach followed by the committee in supporting the principle of “participation for the sake of competition” and expanding the base of the Emirati presence in international sports forums.
He pointed out that the continuous support from the wise leadership contributed to consolidating the UAE’s position on the international sports scene, through the levels of its athletes and its honorable presence in various tournaments, in addition to its commitment to Olympic values ​​and principles.
Al-Tayeb appreciated the efforts of the players during the preparation phase, from their official qualification until the start of the competitions, through training programs and internal and external camps, stressing that the Emirates Winter Sports Federation has developed plans and strategies to ensure the continuity of Emirati participation in the winter tournaments.
For his part, Hamel Al Qubaisi stressed that the UAE’s first appearance in the 2026 Winter Olympics represents a qualitative step that reflects the development of Emirati sports and its ability to compete in various sporting environments.
He added that the Federation continued to work on preparing the players technically and organizing their external participation in cooperation with international federations, and developing strategies that ensure the readiness of the players, while providing technical expertise and training programs, which contributes to raising the level of performance and consolidating the UAE’s presence in winter sports.
He added that the Emirates Winter Sports Federation played a pivotal role in this achievement, through technical supervision of training and qualification programs, developing strategies that ensure players’ readiness for international participation, in addition to coordinating their participation in major tournaments, and providing technical expertise and training programs in cooperation with international federations, which contributes to raising the level of performance and consolidating the UAE’s position on the international scene in winter sports.