MILAN — For three hours, the woes of the world seemingly disappeared as spectators across the planet marvelled at Italian ingenuity and high fashion, and revelled in the Olympic spirit.
The Opening Ceremonies of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games were above all meant to carry a message of harmony, or “armonia” as Italians would say, in increasingly troubled times. If the spectators in the San Siro stadium expressed any political bent, it was by cheering more loudly for countries like Ukraine or Venezuela — and their own, of course.
In a speech, Giovanni Malagò, president of the organizing committee for the Milan-Cortina Games, briefly touched on the topic of world conflict but offered a message of hope, telling the athletes that their presence shows that “another world is possible.”
“You are the Olympic family,” he said.
For the first time in the history of the Winter Games, the ceremony took place in two cities simultaneously, Milan and Cortina d’Ampazzo, a way to connect the urban and the mountain areas through a single and shared narrative, according to its creative director.
“Armonia is not just a ceremony, it is a new way of imagining it. For the first time in Olympic history, two cities — Milano and Cortina — become a single stage, telling the story of different places whose hearts beat as one,” said Marco Balich.
“Armonia is not a compromise between opposing forces, but a dialogue between them — a necessary foundation for imagining a better future.”
The ceremony started off in Milan with the mythical story of Cupid and Psyche, brought to life on stage with ballet dancers, before three large paint tubes of red, blue and yellow hung from the ceiling “flooded” the stage, turning it into a kaleidoscope of colours.
The crowd erupted in loud cheers when U.S. pop singer Mariah Carey, wearing a dress designed by Fausto Puglisi, performed Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu,” followed by one of her most iconic songs, “Nothing Is Impossible.”
The San Siro stadium lit up in the colours of the Italian flag as three groups of models respectively walked the runway wearing the creations of designer Giorgio Armani, who passed away last year, to celebrate the city’s deep connection to the world of fashion.
There were significant efforts to coordinate the two ceremonies in both cities.
Vittoria Ceretti, the flagbearer for Milan, emerged from the ranks of models to hand over the Italian flag, while in Cortina, a group of flagbearers of Italian relay runners performed the same gesture. Italian pop icon Laura Pausini also sang her country’s national anthem in Milan, while a mountain choir echoed the sound of her voice in Cortina.
Games spread over 25 venues
The geographic expanse of the games — 25 venues over 22,000 square kilometres — also meant the delegations were not in the same place at the same time.
Athletes paraded in venues closest to where they were set to compete — either Milan, Cortina, Livigno or Predazzo — in order to minimize travel logistics.
For instance, Canadian flagbearers and Olympic champions Mikaël Kingsbury and Marielle Thompson marched with their skiing and snowboard teammates in Livigno, while their fellow athletes, competing in ice hockey, speed skating and figure skating were in Milan.
In a recent interview, curler Marc Kennedy, a veteran of three Olympics, acknowledged the new athletes’ parade would be “different.” For experienced athletes like him, he hinted that’s not as big a deal as it might be for someone making their Olympic debut.
“We’ve been there before, so we don’t really have that same urge to be in the opening or closing ceremonies, or we don’t need the full village experience with all the athletes,” Kennedy said.
“Don’t get me wrong, those are wonderful experiences, but having been there before, I think we’re okay with knowing we’re a little bit separated from everybody, and that we just have a job to do.”
In Cortina, athletes walked down the Corso Italia, the town’s brick main street, under a constellation of flags. In Milan, they followed placard bearers wearing long silver coats who seemed to be walking the runway onto ramps that formed an illuminated circle.
The concept, as new as it was, did not create the same excitement in either location.
For countries with much smaller delegations, there were no athletes parading in Milan at all, which led to long stretches of time with little or no cheering or clapping. The void was filled with vibrant electronic music from Simone Benussi, whose stage name is DJ MACE.
Prior to the opening ceremony, Olympic officials had expressed concern that world events might lead to booing of certain countries, such as the U.S. But while U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who briefly appeared on screen waving U.S. flags with wife Usha, was
by the crowd, American athletes got a warm welcome.
For the most part, the crowd demonstrated their views in more subtle ways. Some of the loudest cheers in Milan were for the five Ukrainian athletes, who are participating in the Olympics despite being at war with Russia. And cheers erupted for Venezuela, a month after the U.S. captured its president, despite there being no athlete in the San Siro stadium.
The loudest cheers were reserved for the host country, Italy, appearing last in the parade as per tradition, with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Georgia Meloni each smiling broadly.
The rest of the ceremony featured a roster of world-renowned Italian artists.
Spectators took a trip back in time through past Winter Olympics with Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore, from the “White Lotus” series, while Italian actress Brenda Lodigiani sought to offer a quirky lesson in Italian hand gestures that mostly fell flat.
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli’s unmistakable vocals accompanied the torchbearers as they were carrying the Olympic flame out of the stadium, concluding the protocol and symbolically opening the path for the start of the Games.
To mark the start of the Olympic Truce, a principle that underpins every edition of the Games, actress Charlize Theron, a United Nations Peace Ambassador, delivered a brief message of peace inspired by former South African President Nelson Mandela.
She said that “today, this message seems more relevant than ever.”
As the first notes of “Ode to Joy” began, the Arco della Pace in the heart of Milan turned blue and stars began to appear on its facade, forming the European Union (EU) flag.
Was it a not-so-subtle message of EU sovereignty at a time where U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to invade Greenland — which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark? Or just another generic message of peace as the Games begin? It’s hard to know.
— With additional reporting from Jonny Wakefield, in Cortina.
National Post
calevesque@postmedia.com
