How Drones Are Reshaping the Olympic Viewing Experience

First-person view UAVs make their Winter Olympic Games debut at Milano Cortina.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, February 10, 2026 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

China’s DJI is one of the world’s largest producers of first-person view (FPV) drones, such as this Mavic Air 2. [Credit: Pexels]

Key Takeaways:

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games debut First-Person View (FPV) drones in Olympic broadcasting, aiming to provide "unprecedented immersion" and a thrilling, first-person perspective of athletes' performances.
These high-speed, agile FPV drones significantly enhance coverage across various outdoor and some indoor sports, offering a dynamic "third dimension" view previously unavailable from fixed cameras.
Despite their innovative viewing experience, FPV drones present challenges such as potential athlete distraction from noise, safety concerns due to past near-misses and crashes, and viewer complaints about the drones' audible whirring on broadcasts.

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According to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina are ushering in a “new chapter in Olympic broadcasting”—one that includes first-person view (FPV) drones capable of providing “unprecedented immersion into the athletes’ experience.”

If you tuned into events such as alpine skiing, snowboarding, or speed skating during the first few days of the 2026 Games in Italy, you may have seen—or heard—the FPV drones. Milano Cortina marks the Winter Olympics debut of the technology, with about 15 of them bringing viewers closer to the action.