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NEED TO KNOW
Major athletes like Lindsey Vonn don't always stay in the shared community known as Olympic Village — but plenty do, like Simone Biles in Paris in 2024
Team USA's 2024 Olympic Village Director Daniel Smith told PEOPLE that some high-profile athletes might decide to stay in alternate accommodations to "avoid the attention"
The Winter Olympics will begin on Feb. 6, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and feature six athlete villages across the region
With athletes arriving in Milan for the2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, one important question remains: Where do they stay?
WhileOlympic VillagesinTokyoin 2021 andParisin 2024 got attention for theirsustainable cardboard beds, the 2026 Winter Games drew notice for one of its accommodation options —a temporary mobile home in Cortina. However, that won't be the only Village set-up.
For the first time, there will be six Olympic Villages located around Northern Italy.According to the Associated Press, it's unlikely that notable U.S. athletesLindsey VonnandMikaela Shiffrinwill stay at the Cortina trailer park, which is the home base for alpine skiers, as well as bobsled, curling and skeleton competitors.
For the athletes who do choose to stay in one of the Olympic Villages, what will their accommodations look like? Read on to find out.
What is the Olympic Village?
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An Olympic Village is a residential complex where athletes, coaches, staff and officials can stay during the Olympic Games. They provide safe, centralized accommodation for the two weeks and are generally located near the main stadiums or sports centers.
The first athlete accommodations werebuilt for the 1924 Summer Games, and, understandably, many changes have been made to the housing since that era's small wooden huts were constructed.
There won't be a single campus but six Olympic Villages in Northern Italy in 2026. Located in Milan, Livigno, Bormio, Predazzo, Anterselva and Cortina, the villages will be comprised of both new and existing facilities, depending on the location,per the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The IOC has referred to this setup as "the first edition of the Winter Games with a multi-centered model."
The Milan Olympic Village, located in the city's Porta Romana district, is one of the new builds. The facility, which can host 1,500 people, will be transformed into permanent student housing when the Olympics conclude.
However, the location getting the most notice is Cortina, where a temporary mobile home village has been set up. The pop-up town can hold 1,400 residents and will include roughly 377 compact wooden-clad homes. Connected by walkways and plazas, each accommodation is the size of a small apartment.
The mobile homes are described as "simple and spartan" but have unparalleled views of the mountains, Fabio Saldini, the Italian government commissioner overseeing infrastructure for the games, told the Associated Press.
"The beauty of a Village like this lies in the fact that everything will be removed afterward," Saldini said. "Nothing is permanent; the environment will not return to its previous state but will be improved. This is a temporary village, but of high design."
Freestyle and snowboard athletes will be housed in Livigno at three traditional Alpine lodges, while Bormio, near the skiing areas, and Anterselva will house athletes in hotels. In Predazzo, an existing structure is being repurposed for athletes and officials.
Do athletes have roommates at the Olympic Village?
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So, what exactly is the roommate situation in the Olympic Village? Team USA's 2024 Olympic Village Director Daniel Smith told PEOPLE that each sport typically decides who shares a space.
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"A lot of times, we'll give them their allocation. So let's say you have 16 athletes on your team ... field hockey. So we'll say, 'Okay, you have four apartments. Each apartment has X number of beds. It's two people to a room,' " Smith explained of the situation at the Paris Games. "Then the team leader will come back and say, 'Okay, here's our rooming list. These are who we're going to room with who.' "
Decorated Olympic gymnastSimone Bileswas one of the big names who had a roommate in Paris. She even gave fans anInstagram Storiestour of the room she shared withJade Carey, her fellowTeam USA gymnast.
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At the2022 Beijing Olympics, Team USA ice hockey gold medalistHilary Knightalso gave fans a "room tour." Knight's Instagram videofeatured cameos from her teammatesAmanda Kessel and Hannah Brandt in the "McMansion."
Fans got a glimpse of the ultra-modern, minimalist suite, which included a living room outfitted with couches and chairs, a TV and a cart serving as a makeshift pantry with easy access to a microwave. There were also multiple bathrooms and bedrooms; the latter were outfitted with an armoire and a decent-sized bed complete with white comforters and small blue blankets with "Beijing" written across them.
Can athletes choose if they stay in the village?
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Smith confirmed to PEOPLE that each team, as well as individual athletes, can choose whether to stay in the Village.
"We have some very high-profile athletes in our delegation," Smith said. "So to avoid any distractions within the Village from other countries' athletes, they decide to stay out."
In Paris, the U.S. men's basketball team, which included athletes likeLeBron JamesandStephen Curry, had accommodations outside of the Village, for example. However, some big-name athletes stayed in the Village in Paris, likeCoco Gauff,whoshared in a 2024 TikTok commentthat while "some of my teammates are in a hotel, I chose to stay in [the] village for the experience."
Though Vonn may not stay in a Village in Italy, she told PEOPLE in July 2024 about their importance, vowing to do what she can to also help families of athletes in her role as a member of the bid committee, which is bringing the Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City in 2034.
"It's just going to make life so much easierfor everyone involved," Vonn said. "I mean, my family, even in Salt Lake 2002, my family had a hard time finding a place to stay. You think of how many people are coming into that city to spectate, where are the families going to go? They can't pay a premium on the big hotels. My family stayed at my second cousin's house in Salt Lake City and slept on the floor."
What happens if a sport chooses not to stay at the village?
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It's doable to not stay in the village, but it does make life a little harder for the duration of the Games.
"If a sport decides not to stay in [the village], they have to find their own arrangements in terms of where they're going to stay, and make their own hotel contracts," Smith said. "A challenge with that is that basically you're outside of the bubble at that point."
In Paris, for example, transportation wasn't provided for hotels outside of the village.
"All of the meals, all of those additional pieces that come along with logistics that athletes in the Village get, you stay out, and all of that is on you," Smith added.
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