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.
Eurosport will have coverage in full. However, it is only accessible as a premium channel, not through standard Freeview TV. Eurosport has a dedicated Olympics channel (available at no extra cost for subscribers), and Sky, BT and Virgin customers can add the channel to their package.
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+.
BBC iPlayer is free to sign up for, but you do need a valid UK TV licence to watch. If you’re travelling whilst the Olympics are on, you can still log in to iPlayer with a VPN. VPNs (virtual private networks) reroute your IP address, which means you can browse the internet as if you’re in another country. For the best speeds and performance, we recommend NordVPN.
You can find out more details in our guide to watching iPlayer from abroad.
The dedicated streaming service for Eurosport is available via Discovery+. To watch the games, you’ll need to sign up for the £6.99 per month plan, and you also get access to other entertainment shows such as 90 Day Fiancé, Aussie Gold Hunters and Gold Rush.
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.
You can also add Eurosport as an extra channel on Amazon Prime, which costs an extra £6.99 on top of your existing Prime Video subscription. You can sign up for Amazon Prime 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
NBCUniversal also owns the streaming platform Peacock. Subscribers will be able to tune into new daily live shows, original programming, Olympics channels, full-event replays and more.
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.
Another way to watch is to sign up for Sling TV. This subscription usually costs $35 per month, but new customers can often get discounts. Sign up for Sling TV here.
Fubo TV is another streaming option – you can get a seven-day free trial, which then goes up to $64.99 per month. However, if you’re only watching the games for a select number of things, you could always take advantage of the free trial and cancel before you pay. Sign up for Fubo TV here.
You can also sign up for YouTube TV, which features four dedicated channels for the Winter Olympics.
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, Senior Entertainment Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Entertainment Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.