Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics begin with spectacular opening ceremony
Milan, Italy: The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened on Friday with a dazzling ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium, mirrored by celebrations across venues in the snow-covered Italian Alps, marking the start of the most geographically widespread Winter Games in history.
The opening extravaganza culminated in the lighting of two Olympic cauldrons, one in Milan at the Arch of Peace and another in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the upscale Alpine resort 400 kilometres (250 miles) away that is hosting the women’s alpine skiing events.
Italian skiing legends Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni ignited the Milan cauldron, an elaborate structure inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knot designs. In Cortina, the honour fell to Sofia Goggia, the former Olympic gold medallist who had earlier in the day completed a training run for the women’s downhill race.
The Milan ceremony paid tribute to Italy’s cultural legacy, blending opera, fashion and music, including a nod to the late designer Giorgio Armani.
The atmosphere briefly soured when loud boos rang out at the San Siro after US Vice President JD Vance appeared on the stadium’s big screen. Despite that reaction, the American team received warm applause as its athletes entered the parade of nations.
Tensions have surfaced in Italy over the presence of agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE, who are accompanying the American delegation as part of security arrangements. Italian authorities have stressed that the agents will have no operational role within the country.
Performers wearing oversized heads of opera composers Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini entertained the crowd, while American singer Mariah Carey, dressed in white sequins and feathers, performed “Volare” in Italian along with “Nothing is Impossible”.
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli drew a standing ovation for his rendition of “Nessun Dorma”, and dozens of models streamed across the stage in red, green and white trouser suits in tribute to Armani.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry addressed the athletes, telling them: “You remind us that we can be brave, that we can be kind, that we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall.” Italian President Sergio Mattarella then formally declared the Games open.
In a first for the Olympics, the 2,900 competing athletes paraded at venues closest to their competition sites during the February 6–22 Games, a move designed to limit travel.
Vonn clears key hurdle
Earlier on Friday, American ski star Lindsey Vonn cleared a crucial hurdle in her quest for Olympic success, completing her first training run for the women’s downhill despite skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
The 41-year-old, wearing a knee brace, showed no obvious signs of difficulty on the Cortina course, keeping alive hopes of adding to her Olympic medal tally. Vonn won her only Olympic gold at the Vancouver Games 16 years ago and also claimed two bronze medals.
A podium finish in Sunday’s downhill would mark a remarkable comeback from retirement, made all the more extraordinary by the injury sustained in a pre-Olympic race.
Before her run, Vonn wrote on Instagram: “Nothing makes me happier! No one would have believed I would be here... but I made it!!... I'm not going to waste this chance.”
Asked afterwards whether everything was “all good”, she replied simply, “yeah”.
Competition also began in figure skating, where defending champions the United States took an early lead in the team event thanks to world champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
The men’s downhill race headlines the first full day of competition on Saturday, while China’s freestyle skier Eileen Gu begins her bid for a third Olympic gold as the women’s slopestyle gets underway at Livigno Snow Park.