There might not be much snow in the UK despite the cold weather but at least you can watch people compete on the white stuff, as well as other forms of frozen water, thanks to the Winter Olympics 2022. Here’s how to stream live coverage, including the opening ceremony, wherever you are.
The 24th Winter Olympics take place in Beijing, China. Team GB are around fifty members strong, whilst Team USA boasts over 200 athletes. Hopes are high for more medals to be brought home by both countries after successful runs in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.
When do the Bejing 2022 Winter Olympic Games take place?
The official dates for the Winter Olympics games are 4 – 20 February 2022, although the curling did start 2 February, two days before the official opening ceremony.
The Closing Ceremony will take place on 20 February. You can watch the BBC’s official trailer for the games below:
When is the Winter Olympics opening ceremony?
As with any Olympics Games, summer or winter, the opening ceremony is a spectacle not to be missed.
This event takes place today Friday 4 February 2022 at the following times:
- 12pm GMT (UK)
- 7am EST (East Coast US)
- 4am PST (West Coast US)
- 8pm CST (China, local time)
If you’re in the US and don’t fancy an early start, then both NBC and Peacock will be airing an ‘enhanced primetime presentation’ from 8pm until 11pm on the same day.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in the UK
Where to watch the Winter Olympics on TV
The channels with the rights to the Olympics in the UK this year are the BBC and Eurosport. You’ll be able to watch most sporting events through both of these channels – with the BBC splitting coverage between BBC One, BBC Two and the Red Button channel.
⛷ Join @BBCSport this February for all of the best moments from the #Beijing2022 Olympic Winter Games across TV, radio and online. Find out more here 👇 — BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) January 12, 2022
BBC channels are available on both Freeview and TV packages such as Virgin and Sky, and you’ll also need a valid UK TV licence. The BBC won’t be showing all coverage in full – just the highlights.
It will show live action from the slopes and highlights on BBC One from midnight until 3pm each day, with several presenters taking the lead on the coverage. In the evenings from 7pm, more highlights will be shown by sporting presenting legend, Clare Balding.
Where to watch the Winter Olympics online
Online
If you don’t have access to a TV, then you can still stream the Olympics either on BBC iPlayer or Eurosport/ Discovery+ .
You can find out more details in our guide to watching iPlayer from abroad .
If you’re a Vodafone mobile customer, then you can actually claim six months worth of Discovery+ completely for free, so you can stream the Winter Olympic games at no extra cost. You can get the Vodafone Discovery+ offer here .
The Eurosport and Discovery coverage will be hosted by a “107-strong cast of winter sports experts and presenters”, and also feature original content, such as a behind-the-scenes look at Greg Rutherford’s bid to become part of Team GB’s bobsled team.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in the US
Broadcast TV
The broadcaster which holds the rights to the Winter Olympics in the US is NBCUniversal. This means that the games will air on NBC (available on cable TV packages) and other NBCUniversal channels like NBCSN.
Coverage of the opening ceremony and all other major events will be available on the NBC Olympics channel .
If you don’t have a TV, then never fear. You can still stream the Winter Olympics online.
Online
There are three tiers to Peacock – free, Premium and Premium Plus. The free tier offers a limited content library, whilst the two other Premium tiers have a larger selection, with the Plus tier giving the content with no ads.
The Premium tier costs $5.99 per month, whilst Premium Plus costs $9.99 per month. Unlike the Tokyo Olympics, all events and Winter Olympics related programming will be restricted to the Premium tier.
YouTube TV costs $64.99 per month, though there is currently an offer on which knocks $10 off the usual price. Like Peacock, you can cancel this subscription at any time.
What events are in the 2022 Winter Olympics?
Here’s a list of all the events in this year’s Winter Olympic Games. You can see the full schedule (including exact timings) over on the Winter Olympics website .
- Alpine Skiing
- Biathlon
- Bobsled
- Cross Country Skiing
- Curling
- Figure Skating
- Freestyle Skiing
- Ice Hockey
- Luge
- Nordic Combined
- Short Track Speed Skating
- Skeleton
- Ski Jumping
- Snowboarding
- Speed Skating
Author: Hannah Cowton-Barnes, Entertainment Editor, Tech Advisor
As Tech Advisor’s Entertainment Editor, Hannah is the resident expert in all things streaming, film and TV. Before joining Tech Advisor in 2019, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Leeds and created a website dedicated to geek culture and lifestyle. She’s also reviewed a whole range of gadgets including flagship smartphones, wearables and styling tools. Outside of Foundry, she’s written freelance pieces for Polygon, Metro and Den of Geek, and is proud to be a Women Techmakers Ambassador for Google.
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