Ski jumping in Lillehammer: Who opens the winter season

From 20 to 22 November 2026, Lillehammer opens the ski-jumping World Cup with a mixed team event and individual events for women and men. On the same large hill, you can follow who is already finding their rhythm after the summer break. Start times, TV coverage and results are available on the Lillehammer venue page.

The organiser has published the event times. All times are local time and also CET, so you do not need to convert them for Germany or Austria.

• Friday, 20 November: mixed team event at 16:00.
• Saturday, 21 November: women at 14:35, men at 16:50.
• Sunday, 22 November: women at 12:00, men at 16:00.

For a first visit, Friday offers a shared view of the women's and men's events. If you want to follow the individual events, you can compare the same names on the same venue on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday lasts longer because of the larger gap between the events. Factor this into your return journey planning.

The Lysgårdsbakken venue was built for the 1994 Winter Olympics. The large and normal hills are next to each other; this World Cup weekend uses the large hill. Its hill size, the measure of the hill's size, is 140 metres. The construction point is 123 metres and serves as the reference for distance scoring.

When watching, it is worth focusing on the transition from take-off into flight. If a jumper becomes unsettled there, they have to correct their flight position and lose room for the landing. Distance alone therefore says little about a clean jump.

For both women's individual events, Nozomi Maruyama, Nika Prevc and Abigail Strate are the first names in this preview: Maruyama won both Lillehammer events last year, while Prevc won the 2025/26 overall World Cup. Strate finished second in the first individual event here. Selina Freitag is another name to watch; she finished the last World Cup winter in fifth place.

For the men's events on Saturday and Sunday, the review leads to Daniel Tschofenig, Ryōyū Kobayashi and Domen Prevc. Tschofenig won the first Lillehammer individual event in 2025, and Kobayashi won the second. Prevc finished second on the Sunday and subsequently won the large crystal globe.

For the mixed team event, Maruyama and Kobayashi are interesting as members of Japan's winning team in 2025. Nika and Domen Prevc were part of the Slovenian team that finished second. These are indications of the teams' strength, not predictions of the line-ups.

This selection reflects the position on 22 October. It replaces neither the form shown in the first snow events nor an official nomination. Who actually competes for Germany, Austria and Switzerland will depend on the respective federations' squads.

You watch from the spectator area below the hills. The organiser offers day tickets and a weekend pass, as well as ticket sales at the entrance. The arena map shows the entrances. Plan where you want to stand before admission and bring an extra warm layer for the time between jumps.

For travel from Germany or Austria, Oslo-Gardermoen is a possible flight destination. According to Visit Lillehammer, trains between Oslo and Lillehammer also stop at the airport. By car, the E6 leads into the region. If you plan the entire journey by train, travel as far as Lillehammer; journey times and connections depend on your starting point.

The station is in the city, while the ski-jumping venue is above it. For this final section, the tourism board's city map is useful. A dedicated World Cup shuttle service has not yet been confirmed here. Check the actual spectator route rather than equating the train's arrival with arrival at the foot of the hill.

If you want to experience Nordic sport yourself, the Seefeld region in Austria is a good option for a separate holiday. Choose your technique and ability level first, then select the route.

Compare accommodation based on the route to the right trail access point and spectator entrance. Your own outing remains dependent on which trails are open; a World Cup event does not guarantee a freely accessible route.