The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics are already seeing some hot competition! Team USA has already won gold medals in snowboard cross and men's figure skating. More medals are sure to follow.
• Start and end dates: Feb. 4 - 20.
• Free streams: BBC iPlayer, Peacock, 7Plus
• Watch anywhere: Try ExpressVPN risk-free
• US: Peacock, Sling and Fubo
• UK: Discovery+, BBC iPlayer
Athletes from all around the world have gathered to compete in a record 109 events over 15 disciplines in seven sports. The Winter Olympics 2022 schedule runs across 17 days and is jam-packed with events ranging from figure skating to bobsledding to skiing.
Seven new events are making their debuts: men's and women's big air freestyle, women's monobob and mixed team competitions in freestyle skiing aerials, ski jumping, snowboard cross, and mixed relay in short track speed skating.
The U.S. is fielding 100 athletes in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Major medal contenders include Shaun White in snowboarding, Chloe Kim in snowboarding, Mikaela Shiffrin in alpine skiing, Nathan Chen in figure skating, David Wise in freestyle skiing, Jamie Anderson in slopestyle and big air, Red Gerard in slopestyle, Elana Meyers Taylor in bobsled, Jessie Diggins in cross-country skiing, Brittany Bowe in speed skating and Erin Jackson in speed skating.
Team USA's women's ice hockey team is also a strong contender for medals, as is Team USA's men's curling.
Check out our complete guide on watching the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
How to watch the Olympics for free
There are multiple ways for you to watch the Winter Olympics for free, so you don't need to pay to root for your nation's athletes to get the gold. Australia has the best way to watch the Olympics without paying, as 7Plus has most of the events (up to 16 live streams!) without paying. Australians who are vacationing abroad can use a VPN, such ExpressVPN (our #1 pick) to evade the geo-blocking walls that would stop them from watching abroad. More on how to do that below.
In the U.S., you can watch some Winter Olympics coverage for free on NBC if you get the local channel with one of the best TV antennas.
For those in the U.K., BBC iPlayer is the way to watch the Olympics for free, it will have up to two live events at the same time. Canada's CBC and New Zealand's TVNZ also offer free Olympics coverage.
How to watch the Olympics from anywhere in the world
The Olympics is a global event and can be viewed in almost every country on Earth. However, if you're not in your home country and can't watch the Tokyo Olympics live stream with your usual services — or you want to watch in your native language — you're not out of luck. With a virtual private network, or VPN, you can appear to be surfing the web from your home town (or somewhere that blackouts won't hit), and access the same streaming services you already paid for.
Not sure which VPN is right for you? We've tested many different services and our pick for the best VPN overall is ExpressVPN. It offers superb speeds and excellent customer service. But you've got other VPN options as well. Here are our top picks.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view a U.K. service, you'd select U.K. from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to your website or streaming service of choice and tune in.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in the US
In the U.S. the Tokyo Olympics is airing on NBC Universals's family of networks: NBC, USA and CNBC.
If you've cut the cord and don't get NBC, USA and CNBC through your cable package, you can access those channels through Sling TV and Fubo TV, two of the picks on our best streaming services list.
Are the 2022 Winter Olympics streaming on Peacock?
The answer is yes! The Beijing Winter Olympics will be streaming on Peacock.
And if you were disappointed with Peacock's coverage of the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, there's good news. Peacock will stream every minute of every live event that airs on broadcast and cable TV. That means it's easy to watch figure skating and watch ice hockey too.
While Peacock has a free tier, Olympics coverage will only be available with Peacock Premium, which costs $4.99 per month or the ad-supported plan or $9.99 for the ad-limited plan.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in the UK
Brits have it easy when it comes to watching the 2022 Winter Olympics — they can just tune into BBC and BBC iPlayer.
However, BBC doesn't have a monopoly on Olympics coverage in the U.K. and it won't broadcast all events.
To watch every event live, you'll instead want to subscribe to Discovery Plus UK, which is offering coverage of every event in Beijing. Subscriptions are available for £6.99/month or £29.99/year. The service is available to stream through a multitude of devices include Chromecast, Apple TV, Android TV and apps for iOS and Android.
If you're traveling outside of the U.K. and have a valid U.K. TV license, you can still follow the Winter Olympics by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in Canada
Canadians can get comprehensive coverage of the Beijing Winter Olympics on CBC, the CBC website and the CBC app.
You can also sign up for the streaming service CBC Gem, which has a 1-month free trial. After that, a subscription costs $4.99 CAD per month.
If you're traveling out of the country, you can use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.
How to watch the Winter Olympics in Australia
Down Under, Aussies can watch the Tokyo Olympics for free on or stream it on the network’s 7Plus streaming service.
Currently out of the country? Use ExpressVPN to access your paid-for services.
How to watch the Olympics in 4K
NBC is broadcasting select Winter Olympics events in 4K UHD. While Peacock does not stream in 4K, you can still cut the cord and watch the 2022 Winter Olympics in 4K via YouTube TV.
YouTube TV is one of the best cable TV alternatives for cord cutters. You'll need the 4K Plus add-on to access ultra high-def coverage.
Currently, YouTube TV is the only live TV service that has announced they are streaming the Winter Olympic Games in 4K. That could change; during the Tokyo Summer Olympics, fuboTV streamed 4K content.
Beijing Winter Olympics schedule and important events
The Beijing Winter Olympics start Friday, February 4 with the opening ceremony and conclude Sunday, February 20 with the closing ceremony.
Here is a broad overview of the 2022 Winter Olympics schedule of events (see the official schedule at Olympics.com). We'll highlight big events when the Olympics get underway.
- Opening Ceremony: February 4
- Alpine Skiing: February 6-19
- Bobsleigh: February 13-20
- Biathlon: February 5-19
- Cross-Country Skiing: February 5-20
- Curling: February 2-20
- Freestyle Skiing: February 3-19
- Figure Skating: February 4-20
- Ice Hockey: February 3-20
- Luge:February 5-10
- Nordic Combined: February 9-17
- Snowboarding: February 5-15
- Ski Jumping: February 5-14
- Skeleton: February 10-12
- Speed Skating: February 5-19
- Short Track Speed Skating: February 5-16
- Closing Ceremony: February 20
2022 Winter Paralympics
The Beijing Winter Paralympics will take place a few weeks after the Olympics. They begin Friday, March 4 and end on March 13.
