In the year of the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Venice Carnival celebrates play and sport as universal forces of creativity, challenge, and sharing. The programme for this edition, titled Olympus – At the Origins of Play, weaves together myth, art, and tradition, bringing back to light the spectacular Venice of past centuries: the human pyramids of the Castellani and Nicolotti, competitions in the calli, regattas, and skill trials that once animated the city. Mythological imagery thus meets the Venetian popular spirit, in a narrative that turns competition into celebration and challenge into collective theatre. The entire city becomes a widespread stage: from the monumental spaces of the Arsenale to Piazza San Marco, and on to the campi, the islands, and the mainland, the Carnival comes alive with performances, parades, waterborne shows, and traditions in dialogue with the present. An invitation to rediscover play as a form of art and community, where beauty becomes shared energy and celebration a unifying ritual, much like sport itself.

The ideal bond between the Olympics and the Carnival is sealed by the passage of the Olympic Flame through Venice on 22 January, a stop on its journey toward Milano–Cortina. The Carnival officially begins on Saturday 31 January at 5 pm in Piazza San Marco with the Gran Ballo di Carnevale with Bridgerton, the inaugural event that ushers the public into the atmosphere of the 2026 edition.

On Sunday 1 February, tradition takes centre stage with the Festa Veneziana, the water parade along the Grand Canal that officially opens the historic programme. The highlight of the day is the explosion of the Pantegana (Venetian word for “rat”) beneath the Rialto Bridge, the symbolic start of the Carnival. Activities on the Piazza San Marco stage also get underway, featuring parades of the most beautiful masks and previews of the events that will animate Venice and Mestre.

Among the most spectacular events is the Arsenale Water Show, staged in the Darsena Grande at the Arsenale from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 February, and again from Thursday 12 to Tuesday 17 February, at 6.45 pm and 9 pm.

Featured image: Detail of the official Carnival poster inspired by
Gabriele Bella, The Feast of Fat Thursday in the Piazzetta (1779–1792)
Courtesy of Fondazione Querini Stampalia