BBC Creative has unveiled Trails Will Blaze, its trailer for the BBC’s Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics coverage.
For many, winter sport now arrives via YouTube. Red Bull and Prada backing Japanese skiers testing limits in Iceland. Trails Will Blaze, BBC Creative’s trailer for the BBC’s Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics coverage, scored live by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, caught my attention.
The first Winter Olympics took place on January 25, 1924, in Chamonix. Not as we understand the Games today. Just over a dozen events. Six sports. They were known then as La Semaine des Sports d’Hiver, International Winter Sports Week, before sport became mass entertainment.
And yet, watching the trailer for Milano Cortina 2026, the Games feel closer in spirit to their early alpine origins than to what they later became.
Let me explain.
The piece is powered by restraint, bringing the best out of the craft. The whole campaign focuses on the athlete breaking new ground as trail blazers. Colour and sound design work alongside a live score by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and the Crouch End Festival Chorus, to impart the essence of the atmosphere and the occasion to behold at Milano Cortina 2026.
It is the kind of ad that would reward a cinema screen.
Set against stylised interpretations of the Dolomites, the trailer unfolds in contrasts. Athletes cut through frozen landscapes, bodies compressed into lines of force and intent. As they accelerate, trails of fire ignite behind them.
Visually, the film uses a limited palette throughout, anchored by three recurring tones: cold blues, deep shadow and bursts of flame.
The campaign was produced in collaboration with animation studio NOMINT and directed by Yannis Konstantinidis. Built entirely through stop-motion, the film features 700 individually 3D-printed athlete figures, animated frame by frame against miniature mountain sets. Fire flickers, fractures and misbehaves, introducing a sense of risk, of adrenaline, and the hunger to win.
“The project was technically demanding and creatively exhilarating,” Konstantinidis said. “From our very first conversation with BBC Creative, we knew we had the chance to pursue the near-impossible. It demanded absolute trust and a willingness to take real creative risks in pursuit of something extraordinary.”
The film unfolds to a new arrangement of Verdi’s Requiem, recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall.
Konstantinidis added: “This film celebrates courage, not just in sport, but in creativity. It is a reminder that when brave creative teams come together with obsessive makers, you can still create work that breaks new ground.”
Trails Will Blaze understands its role, readying us to become enthused spectators of Milano Cortina 2026.
Limits will be pushed. Records will be broken. Trails will blaze.
Head of Planning: Rhonwen Lally
Executive Creative Directors: Rasmus Smith Bech, Dave Monk
Creative Directors: Matt Leach, Jess Oudot
Creatives: Paul Bailey, Russell Hendrie
Producer: Rachel Roberts
Planner: Hattie Buxton
Director: Yannis Konstantinidis
Executive Producers: Marilena Vatseri, Christos Lefakis
Producer: John Mouratis
Director of Photography: Toby Howell
Production Designer: Gordon Allen
Animators: Dario Imbrogno, Rhiannon Evans
Colourist: George Kyriacou
VFX Artist: Alistair Hamer
Post-Production Supervisor: Matthieu Landour
Sound Designers: Sam Ashwell, Mike Bovill
Arranger: Alex Baranowski
Music: Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and the Crouch End Festival Chorus. Recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall.
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