2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony
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The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony unfolded on February 6th, 2026. It kicked off at 8 PM Central European Time, or 7 PM UTC, and wrapped up at 11:29 PM. This grand spectacle wasn't confined to a single location; it primarily graced the iconic San Siro in Milan, but also extended its reach to Livigno, Predazzo, and the charming streets of Cortina d'Ampezzo, all within Italy. This marked a historic first for the Olympic Games, with an opening ceremony spread across four distinct sites in the host nation.
Following the directives of the Olympic Charter, the proceedings featured a vibrant artistic program. This segment was a captivating showcase of Italy's rich culture and the spirit of its host cities, with harmony as its central, guiding theme. The ceremony culminated with the traditional parade of athletes and the symbolic lighting of the Olympic cauldrons.
The Games were officially declared open by the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. Notably, this was the inaugural Winter Olympics and the first Olympic Games opening ceremony to take place under the International Olympic Committee's presidency of Kirsty Coventry. With a total runtime of three hours and thirty minutes, it etched its name in history as the longest ceremony in Winter Olympics history. Critics largely responded with positive reviews, many lauding its artistic flair and musical performances, though some did comment on its extended duration.
Preparations were helmed by director Marco Balich and produced by Banijay Live's Balich Wonder Studio. The magnificent cauldrons were a collaborative creation between Balich, Lida Castelli, and Paolo Fantin, unveiled in late January 2026. This marked the first time in Olympic history that two cauldrons were present in two different cities. The ceremony's main hub was San Siro in Milan, while events such as flag raisings and the parade of nations took place at venues in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo, underscoring the expansive nature of the Games' host sites. The ceremony involved approximately 1,200 volunteer performers, adorned in over 1,400 costumes, who dedicated nearly 700 hours to rehearsals. San Siro buzzed with the energy of nearly 61,000 spectators, with ticket prices reaching as high as $2,300 USD. The entire event was captured by Olympic Broadcasting Services, or OBS, and broadcast globally by the IOC's rights-holding broadcasters.
The overarching theme for the ceremony was "Armonia," meaning Harmony. Director Balich explained that the word itself, derived from Ancient Greek, signifies "bringing together" different elements, particularly in a musical context.
The ceremony commenced precisely at 8 PM local time with a 30-second countdown. The show itself opened with a moving tribute to the renowned Italian artist Antonio Canova, narrating the timeless story of Cupid and Psyche within a museum-like setting, brought to life by dancers and music. Following this, Italian actress Matilda De Angelis took center stage, "conducting" the maestros Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi. Three suspended paint tubes, in hues of blue, red, and yellow, descended over the stadium, releasing their vibrant colors as dancers moved, a powerful symbol of creativity and artistic expression. Their costumes were a visual feast, reflecting Italy's rich cultural heritage, its celebrated cuisine, and its storied history. A brief, heartfelt tribute to the late Italian pop culture icon, Raffaella Carrà, also graced the ceremony.
American singer Mariah Carey then captivated the audience with her performance of "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" in Italian, followed by her inspiring single "Nothing Is Impossible." Subsequently, models showcased striking costumes in the colors of the Italian flag, designed by the late Giorgio Armani. Vittoria Ceretti ceremonially passed the national flag to the Carabinieri, while in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Fulvio Valbusa, Giorgio Di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer, and Cristian Zorzi performed a similar handover to an all-women Carabinieri unit. Back at San Siro, Italian singer Laura Pausini delivered a powerful rendition of "Il Canto degli Italiani," performed simultaneously by a mountain choir in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The iconic Olympic rings were unveiled during a segment dedicated to the 'harmony' between the city of Milan and the mountainous region of Cortina d'Ampezzo, symbolizing the two principal host cities of the Games. Adding to the poetic atmosphere, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino recited Giacomo Leopardi's profound poem "L'infinito." The musical accompaniment was led by Giovanni Andrea Zanon, playing the exquisite 1716 Berthier Stradivarius violin. Following this, the much-anticipated parade of nations began, starting with Greece and concluding with the host nation, Italy. Athletes from 92 countries made their way across the four venues in Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo.
After the parade, Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore and a troupe of dancers celebrated the centenary of the Winter Olympic Games. This segment featured the beloved mascots of the Games, Tina and Milo. The soundtrack for this part included the lively "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by Adriano Celentano. Before the official speeches by IOC President Kirsty Coventry and Games Organizing Committee President Giovanni Malago, actress Brenda Lodigiani presented a charming segment on Italian hand gestures. Then, with great anticipation, Italian President Sergio Mattarella formally declared the Games open. The ceremony's emotional crescendo continued with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli performing the magnificent "Nessun dorma."
A segment promoting peace featured South African and American actress and United Nations Messenger of Peace, Charlize Theron, alongside Italian rapper Ghali. Dancers beautifully recreated the imagery of a "dove of peace."
The Olympic flag was raised with solemnity in both Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, carried by esteemed individuals including Rebecca Andrade, Eliud Kipchoge, Cindy Ngamba, Pita Taufatofua, Tadatoshi Akiba, Maryam Bukar Hassan, Nicolò Govoni, Filippo Grandi, Franco Nones, and Martina Valcepina. The Olympic Hymn resonated through the venues, performed by Italian singer Cecilia Bartoli, American musician Yo-Yo Ma, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, and members of the Teatro alla Scala children's choir. The Olympic oath was solemnly taken at Cortina d'Ampezzo's Piazza Angelo Dibona by athletes, coaches, and judges.
Before the grand finale of the cauldron lighting, a segment honoring the European Union was presented, featuring its anthem. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti made a special appearance during a segment dedicated to Galileo Galilei. The Olympic flame, after a brief appearance at San Siro, departed for its final destination. The cauldron, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's intricate 'knot' geometric designs, was lit by Italian alpine skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba at Milan's Arco della Pace monument, while a second cauldron was illuminated by Italian alpine skier Sofia Goggia at Cortina d'Ampezzo's Piazza Angelo Dibona. A spectacular fireworks display in Milan brought the unforgettable ceremony to a close.
The National Anthem of Italy was performed by Laura Pausini, and the Olympic Anthem by Cecilia Bartoli, Lang Lang, and the children's choir of the Teatro alla Scala.
The opening ceremony was captured by host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services, or OBS, which provided a comprehensive "world feed" for all rights-holding broadcasters.
In Italy, Rai 1 featured commentators Paolo Petrecca, Fabio Genovesi, and Stefania Belmondo. Australia's Nine Network had Allison Langdon, Todd Woodbridge, and Lydia Lassila. Brazil's CazéTV presented Luís Felipe Freitas, Casimiro Miguel, and friends, while Channels Globo featured Gustavo Vilani, Marcel Stürmer, Carlos Gil, and Gilberto Nogueira on TV Globo, and Luiz Carlos Júnior, Isabel Clark Ribeiro, Jaqueline Mourão, Marcelo Barreto, and Marcelo Lins on SporTV and Ge TV. Bulgaria's BNT 1 and BNT 3 had Tsvetelina Abrasheva and Evgeni Nikolov. Canada's CBC Sports was covered by Adrienne Arsenault and Devin Heroux, with Ici Radio-Canada Télé featuring Guillaume Dumas and Serge Denoncourt. Croatia's HRT 2 had Viki Ivanović and Daniel Križ. In the Czech Republic, ČT Sport presented Michal Dusík and Miroslav Langer. Germany's Das Erste, part of ARD, featured Tom Bartels and Giovanni di Lorenzo. The Netherlands' NPO 1, by NOS, had Erik van Dijk and Mark Tuitert. Poland's TVP1 was covered by Marek Rudziński and Piotr Sobczyński. Sweden's SVT2 presented AnnaMaria Fredholm and Anja Pärson. The United Kingdom's BBC Two featured John Hunt and Hazel Irvine. In the United States, NBC Sports, part of NBCUniversal, had Mary Carillo, Terry Gannon, and Shaun White.
Among the dignitaries in attendance were members of the International Olympic Committee, including IOC President Kirsty Coventry and Honorary President Thomas Bach, as well as IPC President Andrew Parsons.
Representing the host nation, Italy, were President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, and Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo Gianluca Lorenzi.
International representatives included the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, alongside President of the UN General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock. Leaders from numerous states were present, including the Presidents of Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Monarchs from Denmark, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Spain, and Thailand were in attendance, along with the Crown Princess of Belgium and Sweden, and the Princess Royal of the United Kingdom. Prime Ministers from Greece and Serbia, along with the Emir of Qatar, were also present. China was represented by State Councillor Shen Yiqin, and Chile by President-elect José Antonio Kast. Former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Prince Faisal bin Hussein of Jordan, and the First Stepdaughter of France, Laurence Auzière-Jourdan, were also in attendance. The United States was represented by Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Dignitaries from the host state of the 2028 Summer Olympics, California, included Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass. The United States Ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, was also present.
Critically, The Guardian's Alexis Petridis offered mixed-to-positive reviews, while Variety's Alison Herman described it as a "playful celebration of Italian culture." Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood characterized the ceremony as "a beautiful but baffling Italian buffet." A point of criticism arose regarding the ceremony's use of generative artificial intelligence during the segment commemorating the centenary of the Winter Olympic Games.
In terms of viewership, Auditel ratings indicated that the opening ceremony was watched by an average of 9.2 million viewers in Italy. In the United States, an estimated 21.4 million viewers tuned in, representing a 34% increase from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Similarly, in Canada, 16 million viewers watched the ceremony, marking the highest viewership for a Winter Olympics opening ceremony in that country since 2014.
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The 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony took place on 6 February 2026. It started at 20:00 CET (19:00 UTC) and concluded at 23:29. It was held primarily at San Siro in Milan, but also included Livigno, Predazzo, and the streets of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This was the first opening ceremony of the Olympics which took place across four locations in the host country.
As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings included an artistic program showcasing the culture of the host country and city, with harmony being a central theme, concluding with the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic cauldrons.
The Games were formally opened by the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella. This was the first Winter Olympics and first Olympic Games opening ceremony under the IOC presidency of Kirsty Coventry. At a total runtime of 3 hours and 30 minutes, it became the longest ceremony in Winter Olympics history, and the ceremony received mostly positive reviews by critics, with many praising its artistic segments and musical performances but criticising its length.
== Preparations ==
The ceremony was directed by Marco Balich and produced by Banijay Live's Balich Wonder Studio. The cauldrons were created in partnership between Balich, Lida Castelli, and Paolo Fantin; they were unveiled in late January 2026. It is the first time that there are two cauldrons in two different cities. The ceremony primarily took place at San Siro in Milan, while there were events including flag raisings and the parade of nations at sites in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo, highlighting the Games' many and vast host sites. The ceremony featured about 1,200 volunteer performers and more than 1,400 costumes; the performers participated in nearly 700 hours of rehearsals. There were nearly 61,000 spectators at San Siro, with ticket prices reaching $2,300 USD. It was filmed by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) and broadcast by the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) global media rights holders.
The theme for the ceremony was "Armonia" (Harmony). Balich explained that the word harmony derives from Ancient Greek: "It means 'bringing together' in musical terms, different elements."
== Proceedings ==
The ceremony began at 20:00 local time with a 30-second countdown. The show itself began with a tribute to Italian artist Antonio Canova, telling the story of Cupid and Psyche through a museum setting accompanied by dancers and music. After this, Italian actress Matilda De Angelis 'conducted' Italian composers Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, and Giuseppe Verdi. Three hanging blue, red, and yellow paint tubes appeared over the stadium, releasing their colours while dancers performed, symbolising creativity and artistic expression. Their respective costumes showcased Italy's cultural heritage, cuisine, and history. A brief tribute to the late Italian pop culture icon Raffaella Carrà also occurred.
A performance by American singer Mariah Carey followed, with her performing "Nel blu, dipinto di blu" in Italian and her single "Nothing Is Impossible". Afterwards, models wore costumes in the colours of the Italian flag designed by the late Giorgio Armani. Vittoria Ceretti passed the country's flag off to the Carabinieri; in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Fulvio Valbusa, Giorgio Di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer, and Cristian Zorzi did the same to an all-women Carabinieri. At San Siro, Italian singer Laura Pausini performed "Il Canto degli Italiani", while a mountain choir did the same simultaneously in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The Olympic rings were unveiled during a segment featuring dancers showcasing the 'harmony' between the city (Milan) and the mountains (Cortina d'Ampezzo), symbolising the two host cities of the Games. In addition, Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino delivered a recitation of Giacomo Leopardi's poem "L'infinito". The score was led by Giovanni Andrea Zanon playing the 1716 Berthier Stradivarius violin. After this, the parade of nations commenced, beginning with Greece and ending with the host nation, Italy. Athletes from 92 countries paraded from four venues in Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo.
Following the parade, Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore and dancers celebrated the centenary of the Winter Olympic Games. This segment featured the Games' mascots, Tina and Milo. Music played during the segment included "Prisencolinensinainciusol" by Adriano Celentano. Prior to the official speeches by IOC president Kirsty Coventry and the Games' organising committee president Giovanni Malago, actress Brenda Lodigiani performed a segment on Italian hand gestures. Afterwards, Italian president Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open. Afterwards, Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli performed "Nessun dorma".
A segment promoting peace featured South African and American actress and United Nations Messenger of Peace Charlize Theron and Italian rapper Ghali, with dancers recreating the "dove of peace".
The Olympic flag was raised in both Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, carried by Rebecca Andrade, Eliud Kipchoge, Cindy Ngamba, Pita Taufatofua, Tadatoshi Akiba, Maryam Bukar Hassan, Nicolò Govoni, Filippo Grandi, Franco Nones, and Martina Valcepina; the Olympic Hymn was performed by Italian singer Cecilia Bartoli, American musician Yo-Yo Ma, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, and the Teatro alla Scala children's choir members. The Olympic oath was stated at Cortina d'Ampezzo's Piazza Angelo Dibona by athletes, coaches, and judges.
Prior to the lighting of the cauldrons, a tribute to European Union featuring the anthem was shown. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti appeared during a segment dedicated to Galileo Galilei; the flame previously briefly entered San Siro before departing to its final destination. The cauldron, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's 'knot' geometric designs, was lit by Italian alpine skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba located in Milan's Arco della Pace monument, while another was lit by Italian alpine skier Sofia Goggia at Cortina d'Ampezzo's Piazza Angelo Dibona. Fireworks in Milan concluded the ceremony.
== Anthems ==
National Anthem of Italy – Laura Pausini
Olympic Anthem – Cecilia Bartoli, Lang Lang, and the children's choir of the Teatro alla Scala
== TV coverage ==
The opening ceremony was filmed by host broadcaster Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), with OBS distributing a "world feed" for rights-holding broadcasters to use.
=== Commentators and hosts ===
Italy
Rai 1: Paolo Petrecca, Fabio Genovesi and Stefania Belmondo
Australia
Nine Network: Allison Langdon, Todd Woodbridge and Lydia Lassila
Brazil
CazéTV: Luís Felipe Freitas, Casimiro Miguel and Friends
Canais Globo:
TV Globo: Gustavo Vilani, Marcel Stürmer, Carlos Gil and Gilberto Nogueira
SporTV and Ge TV: Luiz Carlos Júnior, Isabel Clark Ribeiro, Jaqueline Mourão, Marcelo Barreto and Marcelo Lins
Bulgaria
BNT 1 and BNT 3: Tsvetelina Abrasheva, and Evgeni Nikolov
Canada
CBC Sports: Adrienne Arsenault and Devin Heroux
Ici Radio-Canada Télé: Guillaume Dumas and Serge Denoncourt
Croatia
HRT 2: Viki Ivanović and Daniel Križ
Czech Republic
ČT Sport: Michal Dusík and Miroslav Langer
Germany
Das Erste (ARD): Tom Bartels and Giovanni di Lorenzo.
Netherlands
NPO 1 (NOS): Erik van Dijk and Mark Tuitert.
Poland
TVP1: Marek Rudziński, Piotr Sobczyński
Sweden
SVT2: AnnaMaria Fredholm and Anja Pärson.
United Kingdom
BBC Two: John Hunt and Hazel Irvine.
United States
NBC Sports (NBCUniversal): Mary Carillo, Terry Gannon, and Shaun White.
== Dignitaries in attendance ==
=== International Olympic Committee ===
Members of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic movement, not counting foreign representatives:
IOC – Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee
Thomas Bach, Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee
IPC – Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee
=== Host ===
Italy –
Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy
Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy
Giuseppe Sala, Mayor of Milan
Gianluca Lorenzi, Mayor of Cortina d'Ampezzo
=== International ===
International organizations
European Union - Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament
UN – António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly
States
Albania – Bajram Begaj, President of Albania
Austria – Christian Stocker, Chancellor of Austria
Belgium – Elisabeth, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Belgium (representing her father, King Philippe)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Zeljka Cvijanovic, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria – Iliana Iotova, President of Bulgaria
Chile – José Antonio Kast, President-elect of Chile (representing President Gabriel Boric)
China – Shen Yiqin, State Councillor of China (representing Chinese leader Xi Jinping)
Croatia – Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, former President of Croatia
Czech Republic – Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic
Denmark – Frederik X and Mary, King and Queen of the Kingdom of Denmark
Estonia – Alar Karis and Sirje Karis, President of Estonia
Finland – Alexander Stubb, President of Finland
France – Marina Ferrari, Sports Minister of France
Laurence Auzière-Jourdan, First Stepdaughter of France (representing President Emmanuel Macron, host country of the 2030 Winter Olympics)
Georgia – Mikhail Kavelashvili, President of Georgia
Germany – Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany
Greece – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece
Hungary – Tamás Sulyok, President of Hungary
Jordan – Prince Faisal bin Hussein of Jordan (representing his brother, King Abdullah)
Latvia – Edgars Rinkevics, President of Latvia
Evika Silina, Prime Minister of Latvia
Lithuania – Gitanas Nauseda, President of Lithuania
Luxembourg – Guillaume, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Monaco – Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco
Netherlands – Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
Maxima, Queen consort of the Netherlands
Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange
Poland – Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland
Qatar – Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar
Serbia – Đuro Macut, Prime Minister of Serbia
Slovakia – Peter Pellegrini, President of Slovakia
Slovenia – Nataša Pirc Musar, President of Slovenia
South Korea – Chae Hwi-young, Culture and Sports Minister of South Korea (representing President Lee Jae Myung)
Spain – Felipe VI and Letizia, King and Queen of the Kingdom of Spain
Sweden – Victoria, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Sweden (representing her father, King Carl Gustaf)
Switzerland – Guy Parmelin, President of Switzerland
Thailand – Suthida, Queen of Thailand (representing her husband King Vajiralongkorn)
United Kingdom – Anne, Princess Royal (representing her brother, King Charles III)
United States of America – JD Vance, Vice President of the United States and Usha Vance, Second Lady of the United States (representing President Donald Trump)
Marco Rubio, United States Secretary of State
Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California (representing Governor Gavin Newsom of California, host state of the 2028 Summer Olympics)
Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles (Host city of the 2028 Summer Olympics)
Tilman Fertitta, United States Ambassador to Italy
== Reception ==
Critically, The Guardian's Alexis Petridis gave the ceremony received mixed-to-positive reviews, while Variety's Alison Herman described it as a "playful celebration of Italian culture". In addition, Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood stated that the ceremony was "a beautiful but baffling Italian buffet". The ceremony faced criticism for its usage of generative artificial intelligence during the segment celebrating the centenary of the Winter Olympic Games.
== Viewership ==
According to Auditel ratings, the opening ceremony was seen in Italy by an average of 9.2 million viewers. In the United States, it was reported that the ceremony was seen by 21.4 million viewers, a 34% increase from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Similarly, in Canada, the ceremony was seen by 16 million viewers, the highest Winter Olympics opening ceremony viewership in that country since 2014.
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
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