The 2026 Carnival of Venice celebrates Milan-Cortina: Olympus – The origins of the game

Scheduled from January 31 to February 17, the 2026 Carnival of Venice will embrace the Olympic year by exploring the interplay of history, art, and sports. This celebration is a tribute to the universal power of games and challenges.

“Venice has always been a city of games, challenges and freedom. With “Olympus – Alle origini del gioco / The origins of the game”, we want to honour the Olympic spirit that will inspire our country in 2026. We also want to remember that it was right here, in the streets and squares of the Republic of Venice, that entertainment and competitive activities were born – challenges that still excite us to this day”, explains Luigi Brugnaro, the Mayor of Venice. “The Carnival will extend a universal welcome, embracing both Italy and the Milan-Cortina Games and symbolically connecting the lagoon and the mountains. In the spirit of sport, we aim to celebrate unity, respect and inclusion for all, because true victory lies in participation, sharing and belonging to a community, which is particularly important for our younger generations.”

“Olympus – Alle origini del gioco / The origins of the game” is a theme that evokes mythology and the harmony of body and mind, but also the Venice of centuries past, where the Carnival was a grand stage for competitions, acrobatic performances, and tests of collective skill, preceding the spirit of the modern Olympics. From the “strength of Hercules” to acrobatics, from regattas to tournaments in the streets and squares, the city on the lagoon has always known how to transform competition into spectacle, and a challenge into a celebration.

The illustration chosen for the 2026 poster is based on “La Festa del Giovedì Grasso in Piazzetta” (The Fat Thursday Celebration in the Square) by Gabriel Bella, an oil-on-canvas painting created between 1779 and 1792. The work is exhibited at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, which has granted the rights to use the image.

“Venice and its waters, streets, and bridges have always loved games, not only as a backdrop for spectators but as an active arena, too,” adds Giovanni Giusto, the council member in charge of the Protection of Traditions committee. “Throughout the year, there were plenty of opportunities: the spectacular human pyramids built during Carnival in Venice, for example, were a physical and collective ritual of strength, balance, and identity. Then there were the historic battles on the Ponte dei Pugni, where opposing factions faced each other “with fists” in a real competition of social identity and popular entertainment. Not to mention the bull hunt in Campo San Polo, amid screams, cheers, physical trials, and risk-taking. With Olympus, we celebrate Venice in all its uniqueness, where tradition and creativity blend together in every corner of the lagoon and the mainland.”

In 2026, as Italy hosts the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Milan-Cortina, Venice will reflect and echo the values that unite people: loyalty, passion, courage, and inclusion, a collective narrative where limits become strengths and diversity becomes a valuable resource.

“Olympus is a vision. It is a dialogue between gods and men, between perfection and dreams. It is a time for humans to measure themselves against themselves, pushing beyond the limits of their bodies and minds,” says Massimo Checchetto, the Carnival’s artistic director. “Play is the origin of all art and celebration. With its ancient popular rituals, Venice is the perfect place to revive these traditions and transform them into contemporary experiences. Every part of the city, from St. Mark’s Square to the Arsenale, the islands, the smaller squares scattered across Venice, as well as the mainland, will contribute to a collective narrative that unites art, sport, myth, play, and masks. ‘Olympus’ is an invitation to believe in the power of imagination and beauty as a form of creative competition, and to celebrate together as one – gods and mortals alike.”

Throughout the event, the Venice Carnival Street Show will animate the streets and squares of Venice, Mestre, and the islands, spreading the festivities to every corner of the city. The parades of allegorical floats will once again be on display – from Dese to Chirignago, from Pellestrina to Venice Lido, from Marghera to Burano, Campalto, Mestre, and Zelarino – in a cheerful embrace between the historic district and the mainland.
Traditional events will enrich the programme of events: the Commedia dell’Arte (Comedy of Art) exhibition, featuring international comedians, the Official Ball at Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, the 12 Marys parade, cultural encounters, youth music festivals at the Arsenale and Forte Marghera, and the Carnevali del Mondo (Carnivals of the World) party in St. Mark’s Square, where cultures and traditions will be united together in a truly fantastic celebration.
The spectacular water show at the Arsenale, a long-standing tradition, will once again captivate visitors with a symphony of dance, music and light. It will retrace the myth of the ancient games of Olympia, where human beings were measured against beauty, limits and dreams.

The complete programme and all the interesting facts about “Olympus – Alle origini del gioco / The origins of the game” will be revealed in the coming weeks on the official website www.carnevale.venezia.it and on the social media channels of the Venice Carnival.

The 2026 Venice Carnival invites everyone to climb Mount Olympus and join in the fun. After all, play, like myth, is eternal, and for a moment — however brief — it makes us all children once more.