Pride House Launches for Milan–Cortina 2026, Bringing Sport, Events, and LGBTQ+ Culture to the Games.

On the occasion of the Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Milan Pride House hosts events, performances, talks, and initiatives to celebrate diversity and inclusion in sport and to support the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

From Vancouver 2010 to Paris 2024 and on to Milan–Cortina 2026: Pride Houses are inclusive LGBTQIA+ spaces created around major international sporting events, demonstrating how sport can be a powerful vehicle for awareness and connection. From 6 to 22 February, Milan will also welcome a space for meeting and dialogue, open to the entire city, where visitors can follow the Games live and raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ rights through meetings with athletes and international guests, theatrical performances, art and cinema, and much more.

The venue is the MEET Digital Culture Center, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2, where Pride House Milan celebrates people and their stories, in harmony with the values of unity, respect, and inclusion that guide the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Pride House is open from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday; from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm on Friday and Saturday; closed on Mondays. All events are free entry. The full calendar of initiatives is available at: https://www.milanopride.it/pride-house-2026/. Updates will also be shared on Instagram: @pridehouse.milano2026.

A COLLECTIVE PROJECT

Pride House Milan is organized by Arcigay, the national association committed to protecting LGBTQ+ rights, together with CIG Arcigay Milano, the Milan-based association active for over 40 years in promoting services for the community and organizer of Milano Pride, and in collaboration with Pride Sport Milano, which brings together 23 LGBTQ+ teams across 11 sports disciplines.

Pride House weaves its energy with some of the most vibrant organizations in the city’s cultural and LGBTQ+ scene, such as the MiX International LGBTQ+ Festival, Lecite Visioni – the LGBTQ+ theatre festival of Teatro Filodrammatici – and MILANoLTRE, the international dance and performing arts festival. This network reflects a city that is curious, open, and in motion.

Pride House is part of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Cultural Olympiad and is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan and the Embassy of Canada, with the support of the Council of Europe.

The Milan edition also takes shape thanks to collaboration with international partners such as ILGA World, the world’s largest association for LGBTQ+ rights; Compete Proud, a leading voice on sport and LGBTQ+ rights; and Fier-Play, organizer of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Pride House.


The official partner of Pride House is lululemon.

THE PROGRAMME

Every day, from Tuesday to Sunday, the Lounge Area on the ground floor of the MEET Digital Culture Center hosts conversations, talks, and in-depth discussions on sport as a means of inclusion, rights, and LGBTQ+ culture. Live competitions can be followed in real time, sharing that mix of tension and excitement that only sport can offer.

The Lounge Area will feature local LGBTQ+ associations organizing panels, meetings, and debates. An information welcome desk on volunteer services in the city will also be available. Pride House also reaffirms itself as a safe space, with the long-standing Pronto helpline offering support, listening, and assistance, including to an international audience. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the MEET Theatre comes alive with theatre, cinema, and art, as well as internationally relevant conferences and the presence of openly LGBTQ+ Olympic and Paralympic athletes sharing stories of authenticity and courage—amplifying the dialogue between culture and rights.

As in Vancouver and Paris, the goal in Milan remains the same: to increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ rights, foster new connections, and promote a more equitable and welcoming sporting environment.

Programme highlights include:

Friday, 6 February

Opening Night – 8:00 pm Tickets for the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony are impossible to find, but all is not lost. The opening show will be screened live at Milan Pride House, at the MEET Digital Culture Center Theatre. This will be followed by a musical evening dedicated to breaking down every kind of barrier: LGBTQ+ choirs will alternate and engage in dialogue with choirs of migrant communities, in a moment of sharing and inclusion.

Saturday, 7 February

Sempre Liberз celebrates queer performing arts in all their expressions: dance, theatre, stand-up comedy, music, readings, opera, and more. At Milan Pride House, artistic director Michele Di Giacomo, co-hosting with Dora from Nina’s Drag Queens, brings the MEET Theatre to life with a special edition dedicated to sport and inclusion. Guests include stand-up comedian Matteo Fallica, Dogma Theatre Company and Mille.

Friday, 13 February

RECORDS. For the first time in ages (studio premiere) – from 8:00 pm The MILANoLTRE festival of dance and performing arts and artist Vittorio Pagani present a performance that starts from the concept of “record,” understood as the highest achievement ever reached, an act of archiving and testimony of existence. From there, the performance explores the social dynamics arising from perfectionism and the thirst for infallibility, highlighting deeply human desires for success, glory, and permanence. How many stories make up a single one? In a world where desires and aspirations are catalogued and fulfilled by infallible, omnipresent algorithms, RECORDS explores the tension between human limits and the aspiration to infinity.

ESG policies and artificial intelligence as tools for advancing civil rights in sport – 13 February, 9:30 pm Arcigay Sport hosts a roundtable dedicated to ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) policies—strategies and criteria that measure sustainability and ethical impact. The focus will be on the evolution of sport through ESG policies and the use of artificial intelligence, elements set to redefine sport’s impact on civil rights and the social dimensions of communities. Guest: the CONI Lombardy Commission “Artificial Intelligence and ESG Policies.”

Saturday, 14 February

Out & Proud. Athletes living authentically on and off the field – 8:00 pm Empowered by lululemon Pride Sport Milano, together with the Proud Champions Network of Compete Proud and Fier-Play, invites openly LGBTQ+ Olympic athletes and world champions to share their stories of identity, courage, and visibility in sport. Guests include: Alex Di Giorgio (swimming, Italy); Paul Poirier (figure skating, Canada); Javier Raya (figure skating, Spain); Nikki Symmons (field hockey and cricket, Ireland); Eric Radford (figure skating, Canada); Kaitlyn Weaver (figure skating, Canada); Lewis Gibson (figure skating, Great Britain).

Film: Le rendez-vous de l’été (That Summer in Paris) – 9:30 pm The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film Festival presents a tragicomedy set in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. Blandine, 30, arrives from Normandy to watch the swimming events. Disoriented by the city’s bustle, where nothing seems to go right, she faces the chaos of Paris and an unexpected reunion.

Friday, 20 February

The challenge of gender and disability within the Olympic and Paralympic Games – 8:00 pm Sport, gender, and dance intertwine to explore how bodies tell their stories and redefine inclusion and marginalization. The MILANoLTRE festival invites Paralympic athletes to discuss dance as a practice of learning, research, and organizing our interactions. A dialogue rooted in personal experience, addressing the body as a political space and opportunity—where performance, emotions, and relationships challenge stereotypes, reveal exclusions, and open new possibilities for representation and action. Moderated by Greta Brizio, scholar and researcher at Università Cattolica, and Chiara Paolino, scholar and associate professor at Università Cattolica. Guests: Matteo Cattini, captain of the Italian Paralympic Powerlifting National Team, and Arjola Dedaj, Paralympic long jumper.

Film: Row of Life – 9:30 pm The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film Festival presents a documentary that brings together sport, disability, relationships, and courage. Marine veteran and Paralympian Angela Madsen attempts a solo row across the Pacific from Los Angeles to Hawaii in 2020. Her wife Deb supports her from afar during the dangerous crossing, while Angela pursues her dream with unwavering determination.

Saturday, 21 February

When everyone can compete: inclusion and the power of sport – 8:00 pm An evening dedicated to the relationship between sport and rights, in collaboration with ILGA World, the leading global LGBTQ+ organization. The event addresses inclusivity in sport—including non-professional sport—with particular attention to transgender people, centering the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes. With Gurchaten Sandhu, Director of Programmes at ILGA World; athlete Nikki Symmons, bridging sport and activism; and contributions from Valentina Petrillo, transgender Paralympic athlete. Moderated by Simone Alliva, journalist for Domani.

Human rights–based approaches to LGBTI inclusion in sport – 8:45 pm In collaboration with the Council of Europe, this panel focuses on institutional and public policy–oriented approaches to promoting LGBTI inclusion in sport. The discussion brings together athletes, policymakers, and civil society representatives to analyze legal and governance frameworks, policy tools, and available data on discrimination. The panel highlights how public institutions, sports organizations, and civil society can collaborate—aligned with the mandate of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) of the Council of Europe—to integrate human rights principles into sports systems and the delivery of inclusive sports and cultural events. Speakers include Francine Raveney, Deputy Executive Secretary, EPAS; Hugh Torrance, expert on sport and human rights; moderated by Javier Raya, Winter Olympian and founder of Compete Proud.

Legacy of Pride House. From Paris to Milan to LA – 9:30 pm The Milan Pride House experience comes to a close—a home for everyone in support of LGBTQ+ community rights. What better moment to look ahead? Together with the Paris Pride House, the Los Angeles Pride House, and EuroPride Turin, the discussion will look to upcoming milestones, starting with the Los Angeles Olympic Games and EuroPride 2027. Director Mariano Furlani will present a teaser of a documentary dedicated to sport as a tool for inclusion and to Milan Pride House.

More information will be published at:
 https://www.milanopride.it/pride-house-2026/. Instagram: @pridehouse.milano2026 .

Download the press kit:
 https://www.milanopride.it/pride-house-2026-press/.