‘Widespread Olympics’ showcased in Opening Ceremonies for Milan Cortina Winter Games

Billed as “a completely new model” for Olympic Opening Ceremonies, the start to the 2026 Winter Games hosted for the first time by a pair of cities, Milan and Cortina, was a celebration of Italy tempered by a pointed call for peace.

In Milan, rain gave way to clear skies above the nearly century-old San Siro soccer stadium for the biggest show. But for the first time, athletes paraded in four locations: Milan, Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina, where a second Olympic cauldron was simultaneously lit.

The more than 90 nations competing in what’s being called the “widespread Olympics” were announced on the Milan stage as a DJ spun pounding beats, although many athletes appeared via video from the location nearest their competition venues.

Team USA was led into the stadium by flag bearer Erin Jackson, a speedskater who trains in Utah, to loud cheers. However, when the stadium screen briefly showed U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, in the stands, there were some boos.

The night featured stars like Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, plenty of dancers, a few fireworks, and even a video showing the popular president of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, arriving on a tram driven by legendary motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi.

The theme for the nearly four-hour show, harmony or “armonia” in Italian as it appeared on the stadium’s big screens, attempted to bring “together what is different” while showcasing the country’s art, culture and history.

The 2026 Olympics and Paralympics that follow for athletes with disabilities are the first Winter Games held since the COVID-19 pandemic. Four years ago in Beijing, the world’s winter Olympians faced strict precautions that limited spectators.

The exuberance of much of the show shifted to a more serious tone at the end. After an anti-war poem was recited in Italian, English and French, actress Charlize Theron offered a message of peace inspired by her “beloved countryman,” the late South African leader Nelson Mandela.

“Let these Games be more than just sport,” she said. “Let them be a reminder of our common humanity, our respect for one another and a resounding call for peace everywhere.”

The torch relay that saw the flame ignited in Olympia, Greece, last November was carried throughout Italy, passed through the stadium before the final torchbearers, Italian Alpine skiing legends Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba, ignited Milan’s cauldron at Arco della Pace.

The Opening Ceremonies are “unique in the world. The Italians took full advantage of it,” said Fraser Bullock, president and executive chair of Utah’s Organizing Committee for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“Who doesn’t love Andrea Bocelli? Wow! So powerfully moving,” he told the Deseret News after watching in person. “Tonight’s experience ignited some creative thinking about the possibilities for eight years and four days from tonight, when it will be Utah’s turn.”

He noted that the lifting of five golden rings above the stadium “was creative and symbolic,” and that the lighted wristbands distributed to spectators “set an artistic backdrop for the entire evening.”

As for the strong anti-war sentiment expressed, Bullock said there’s always a “peace segment” in the Opening Ceremonies. “The Games have a unique platform to strive to bring the world together in unity and peace,” he said.

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