MILAN — Showcasing art, fashion and innovation, the 2026 Milano Cortina opening ceremony heralded peace above all at the “armonia,” harmony, themed evening. All through the stadium, a web of flashing lights wound a living map of the world, from those on the stadium stage floor through to the LED wristbands on the arm of every spectator.
You could always tell where the Americans were. They weren’t just dressed in national colors, but stitched together in neon stars and stripes and red, white and blue fur coats and wigs. The Italians, and really everyone else, kept it to matching blue jackets, a discreet tricolore on the arm, with a few rowdy exceptions, of course — this is Italy.
More than 50,000 people from around the globe flowed through the San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday night. Despite the lines at every bathroom, concession stand and staircase to the arena, everyone smiled as they bounced on their toes in anticipation of the Games.
As groups climbed the stadium’s concrete coils to their seats in a slow death march, shoulder to shoulder, they chanted an Italian call and response “EI, EI, EI!”, “AY, AY, AY!”, the sound echoing up the walls of the outer layer of the stadium. That, more than anything, gave life to the evening’s Olympic spirit, superseding country and overcoming conflict — and maybe more impressively, impatience.
With the timed precision required of live TV, the stadium crowd watched as crews dressed in black staged the dancers and their equipment in the hour leading up to 8 p.m., and like watching the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, count down the seconds to air time.
At exactly 10 seconds past the 8 o’clock hour, the room went black before pulsing lights snaked across the stadium floor and threaded up through the audience in the stands. Every wrist in the crowd flickered in sync, LED bands glowing and dimming together, turning the audience into part of the light show.
According to the Milano Cortina 2026 organizing committee, the opening event was the result of more than 700 hours of rehearsal, 1,000 props and performers from 27 different nations.
In the starting number, dancers from the Teatro alla Scala academy mimicked winter sports in sweeping motions around ancient Roman busts before three massive tubes of paint poured down and colored the stage in bright colors.
A rainbow of dancing Moka pots, Italian inventions and icons paid homage to the creativity and culture of the host country’s innovation.
Three massive caricatures bobbed onto the stage, a nod to the three great opera maestros, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, who would return throughout the night to a Milano Cortina theme song, in a comic relief kind of way, paying respect to the opera with a wink.
Tens of thousands of people disappeared into silence so complete you couldn’t tell where anyone was anymore as Andrea Bocelli rose to a final line, “Vincerò,” which means, “I will win.”
“Volare, oh oh,” Mariah Carey sang, and the stadium answered her back, fully committed, though entirely off-key.
This is the most geographically spread out Winter Olympics in history, with venues stretching across roughly 8,500 square miles, an attribute many have found challenging and controversial, particularly during an opening ceremony where many countries were absent from the Milan stage while their athletes waved to the cameras from the Italian cities of Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
“Welcome to the first widespread Olympic Games,” said Giovanni Malagó, president of the 2026 organizing committee.
Athletes appeared in their national colors bearing their country’s flag at every ceremony across Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Predazzo and Livigno, dancing to the same beat in ski towns hundreds of miles apart.
Greece led the Parade of Nations, as tradition demands, but without athletes present in Milan. Though at first disappointing, with the first round of countries’ athletes all spread across the other three ceremonies, as the parade settled into its rhythm, the crowd turned to the screens, tracking the energy and celebrations unfolding simultaneously across the country. With no single place bearing ownership of the Games, the Olympics really did belong to everyone.
As athletes crossed the stage in Milan, the San Siro Stadium erupted in a roar of applause and support that crossed the venue like a wave, flowing as the athletes traveled through from one side to the other. Athletes brought the stadium back to life as more and more countries were represented by athletes. Some waved shyly while others screamed through the Olympic ring, bearing the flag atop a teammate’s shoulders, taking selfies and video logs and looking around in awe as thousands, and millions at home, cheered for them.
For being Olympians and some of the world’s very best, flag-bearing posed a new challenge for some. Athletes struggled against the wind, hitting their fellow teammates with the fabric and tangling their flags around themselves. Still, a flag mishap couldn’t bring them down as they hugged their friends and waved to the crowd, pumping their fists in victory.
Canada arrived as big as an army with their bright maple leaf apparel in every city. Brazil earned its applause with an ecstatic performance from alpine skier and flagbearer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, showcasing the Brazilian flag on the underside of his parka. “It’s Pinheiro!” people in the audience yelled, as teammates behind the flagbearer clutched their heads in disbelief at their place on the Olympic stage.
Jamaica brought the energy to Cortina d’Ampezzo, stopping mid-runway to dance it out while the Milan crowd laughed off-screen. Iceland broke the crowd with a spontaneous step dance in Livigno. Cream cable knits announced Team Ireland. Mexico earned cheers with just a handful of athletes in Milan. Spain brought one of the loudest sustained applause of the night, followed closely by Sweden and Switzerland.
But it was Ukraine that brought the stadium to its feet. For the full four minutes the athletes in Milan crossed the stage, applause roared unending.
Ukrainian athletes danced while their flagbearer walked proudly waving their flag, stopping in surprise at the outcry from the audience. “Viva Ucraina!” rang out from the stands, audible even over the pounding drums and roaring ovation.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s appearance brought unanimous applause. With the roar of support for the country’s leader, Americans in the crowd were reminded of a rare kind of unity, one standing in stark contrast to the stadium erupting in dissenting boos for Vice President JD Vance as he flashed on the screens during Team USA’s walk.
“Tonight, Italy opens its arms to the world from the city of Milan to the mountains of Cortina d’Ampezzo, we welcome you to a land of history, innovation, of creative culture and fashion,” said Malagó. “We stand ready to make Olympic history again, inspired by the values that unite all of us — excellence, friendship and respect.”
Malagó described the 2026 Games as a pioneering effort, unique in its sprawling geography. He noted these Winter Games are the most gender balanced in history, with Nordic Combined the only sport to exclude women from participating.
“I know how hard we have all struggled to make this happen,” he said. “The road did not lead without challenges. But I was determined never to give up, because simply I love my country, I love sports and I love the Olympic movement.”
And to the athletes: “This is your time. Questo è il vostro momento.”
After the Olympic torch passed through 60 cities, 12,000 kilometers and all 110 provinces of the country over 63 days, the cauldrons were lit. For the first time in Olympic history, two cauldrons will burn for the duration of these games, with one in Milan at the Arco della Pace lit by Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, and the Piazza Dibona in Cortina d’Ampezzo lit by Sofia Goggia.
With five medals in alpine skiing, Tomba is the most decorated Italian skier in Olympic history. Compagnoni won skiing golds at three straight Olympics starting in 1992. Goggia is a two-time Olympic medalist and longtime rival and friend of Lindsey Vonn, and is entering her third Olympic Games on home soil.
The cauldrons will be extinguished in sync on Feb. 22 at the Olympic closing ceremony.
To the athletes: “You’ll show us what it means to be human. To dream. To overcome. To respect one another. To care for each other. You’ll show us that strength isn’t just about winning – it’s about courage, empathy and heart,” said the first ever female president of the International Olympic Committee and five-time Olympian, Kirsty Coventry. “This is why we all love the Olympic Games. Because through you, we see the very best of ourselves. You remind us that we can be brave. That we can be kind. And that we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall.”