Carnevale di Venezia 2026. From myth to sport: Venice celebrates Milan–Cortina in this year’s edition!
When play becomes art, and challenge turns into beauty, Venice rises to Olympus. From January 31 to February 17 2026, the Venice Carnival celebrates the year of the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games with a special edition dedicated to the theme “Olympus – the origins of the game”, a great collective narrative that weaves together myth, history, art and sport, placing games at centre stage as the origin of celebration, competition and community.
The calendar of events for Venice Carnival 2026 was presented this morning at Ca’ Farsetti Palace by the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, the Councillor Delegate for the Safeguarding of Traditions, Giovanni Giusto, the Artistic Director of the Carnival, Massimo Checchetto, and the General Director of Ve.La. S.p.A., Fabrizio D’Oria.
The programme begins on Saturday January 31, from 5 p.m. in St Mark’s Square, with the Grand Carnival Ball and Bridgerton, the first major event introducing the public to the atmosphere of the 2026 edition. The following day, Sunday February 1, the celebration moves into the heart of tradition with the Festa Veneziana, the evocative water parade along the Grand Canal, which officially opens the historical and traditional programme of the entire event. The culminating moment will be the explosion of the Pantegana boat beneath the Rialto Bridge, an unmissable symbol marking the beginning of Carnival. On the same day, the programme on the stage in St Mark’s Square also will kick off, the beating heart of the event, as the city starts to pulse to the rhythm of parades of the most beautiful masks, capable of attracting hundreds of visitors, together with a preview of the widespread performances that are set to animate Venice and Mestre throughout the entire Carnival period. Also on Sunday February 1, in Dese, the procession of allegorical floats will start, bringing the celebration into the towns and communities of the mainland. At the same time, the selection of the 12 “Marie” will also take place, one of the most eagerly awaited moments of Venetian tradition.
“The Venice Carnival in 2026 embodies a message that starts from our history and speaks to the world”, declares Mayor Brugnaro. “In the year of the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have chosen to tell the story of play as a profound cultural and social value, as a space for encounter, respect, participation and collective growth, in the spirit of Olympia. Play, which can also take the form of sport, is a universal language, capable of uniting generations, cultures and diverse communities, which is indeed a cornerstone of the identity of our city. Here, for centuries, competition has not divided but united, becoming spectacle, creativity, collective ritual, an opportunity for comparison and celebration. Venice has always known how to transform challenge into beauty and participation into wonder, anticipating that Olympic spirit that places the human being, talent, commitment and mutual respect at the centre. With ‘Olympus – the origins of the game’, we celebrate a city that knows how to be a part of something special, that welcomes and involves, that opens its squares, its canals and its districts to the world, transforming them into places of shared emotions. It is a widespread Carnival that speaks to families, young people and children, that enhances tradition while at the same time looking to the future, reaffirming Venice as an international capital of culture, creativity and civil coexistence.”
In 2026, the Venice Carnival opens the doors to a timeless realm, where myth meets history, and the waters of the lagoon reflect the eternal gestures of ancient arenas. The echoes of gods and heroes are mirrored in the canals, while humanity measures itself against legend, transforming the city into a modern, widespread Olympia, in which sport, epic narrative, mask, play and imagination merge into a single, great celebration.
This edition is part of the Milano Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympiad, a multidisciplinary, plural, and widespread program designed to promote Olympic and Paralympic values through culture, heritage, and sport. It features a calendar of artistic and cultural initiatives that will enliven the country on the road to the Games, fostering a festive atmosphere and connection between people. Starting in January 2024, the program will culminate in 2026 with an exciting and engaging schedule during the Winter Olympic Games (February 6–22, 2026) and the Winter Paralympic Games (March 6–15, 2026).
This journey creates a metaphorical thread across the territory and through time, which will see the Olympic Flame stop in Venice on January 22, 2026, on its long path toward Milano-Cortina. The Flame will travel across Veneto—the host region of the Games—beginning its journey on January 18 from Peschiera del Garda, home to historic Venetian works of defense, in a voyage that unites sport, history, and identity.
“Games have always defined the history of humankind, reflecting values, aspirations and the desire to challenge ourselves and others, transforming competition into an opportunity for encounter and growth”, states Giusto. “Venice, with its waters, its city streets and bridges, has always loved to play, not only as a spectator but as a leading actor. Over the centuries, the Carnival has been a training ground for creativity, a space of freedom and experimentation, a place where body, ingenuity and imagination have been tested through regattas, public contests and challenges, acrobatics and collective rituals. From January 31 to February 17 2026, the streets and squares of the city will once again become spaces of play and challenge, open and inclusive, where artists, citizens and visitors will once again unite in a collective ritual made of wonder, competition, discovery and participation. A Carnival that invites everyone to take part in the celebration, to recognise themselves in the community and to rediscover, through play, the deepest meaning of being together”.
“The theme ‘Olympus – the origins of the game’ is a symbolic journey into the myth of play”, states Checchetto, “which begins in Olympia and travels through ancient Greece to traditional Venetian games, reaching modern sport and the Olympic universe. The gods embodied the sporting ideals and spirit that we still see in our athletes today, who are capable of inspiring future generations. The Carnival thus becomes a space of freedom, sharing and encounters, carrying the same message as the Olympics: being together, challenging ourselves with respect and rediscovering, through play, the myth that each person carries inside”.
“Together with all the institutions and organisations involved, we are committed to offering an accessible, widespread and sustainable Carnival that moves and inspires everyone”, concludes D’Oria. “It is a collective effort that sees the entire operational structure of Ve.La. engaged on several fronts, from organisation and creativity to information and reception. All of this is designed to ensure that visitors and citizens enjoy a festive atmosphere in a safe environment throughout the city. The programme of the 2026 edition, organised in a widespread manner across the territory as in recent years, will nonetheless include surprises and inventions suggested by the theme of this year”.
The guiding image of the 2026 edition is inspired by the painting “The Feast of Shrove Thursday in the Piazzetta” by Gabriel Bella (1779–1792), kindly granted by the Querini Stampalia Foundation, which emphasises the deep link between historical iconography and the contemporary vision of the Carnival.
As in every Carnival, everything is metamorphosis: the mortal becomes divine, the human measures itself against the dream. In this way, Venice confirms itself as the most astonishing stage and setting in the world, capable of launching a universal message: games unite us, break down barriers, and invite people to be a part of something special, individually or as a team. Because play, like myth, is eternal.
