2026 Winter Olympics: Some athletes skip Milan's opening ceremony and march in the mountains

Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and different iconic tastes of Italian civilization — positive Mariah Carey hitting each the precocious notes successful "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" aka "Volare" — an unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremonial got the Milan Cortina Olympics officially started connected Friday (February 6, 2026).

Allowing athletes to enactment successful the Parade of Nations astatine the upland locales for the astir spread-out Winter Games successful past created what possibly was an unintended consequence: Zero competitors from immoderate of the archetypal 5 countries really showed up astatine the main hub, Milan's San Siro shot stadium.

While signs bearing the names of Greece, Albania, Andorra, Saudi Arabia and Argentina were carried into the location of Serie A shot titans AC Milan and Inter Milan, determination were nary athletes from those places around: Instead, they were participating astatine simultaneous festivities held astatine Cortina d'Ampezzo successful the bosom of the Dolomites, Livigno successful the Alps, and Predazzo successful the autonomous state of Trento.

For bully measure, the Feb. 22 closing ceremonial volition beryllium held successful yet different locale, Verona, wherever Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” was set.

The afloat postulation of contention venues for the adjacent two-plus weeks dot an country of astir 8,500 quadrate miles (more than 22,000 quadrate kilometers), astir the size of the full authorities of New Jersey. The multi-city ceremonial format Friday allowed up-in-the-mountains sports specified arsenic Alpine skiing, bobsled, curling and snowboarding to beryllium represented without requiring folks to marque the several-hours-long trek to Milan, the country's fiscal capital.

So immoderate chose not to.

The archetypal state with athletes astatine San Siro was Armenia — and their entranceway drew raucous cheers from a sellout assemblage of 61,000.

Plenty had been kept nether wraps by organisers who said they sought to convey themes of harmony and peace, seeking to correspond the city-mountain dichotomy of the peculiarly antithetic setup for these Olympics portion besides trying to entreaty to a consciousness of unity astatine a clip of planetary tensions.

Another unknown: What benignant of reception would US Vice President JD Vance get erstwhile helium attended the ceremonial successful Milan? And what astir the American athletes, who were scheduled to beryllium among the last ones to instrumentality portion due to the fact that the adjacent Games volition beryllium hosted by Los Angeles successful 2028?

When caller International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry was asked this week what benignant of greeting the U.S. delegation would get erstwhile they participate San Siro successful the Parade of Nations, she replied: "I anticipation the opening ceremonial is seen by everyone arsenic an accidental to beryllium respectful." Another awesome of however far-flung things are this time: Instead of the accustomed 1 cauldron that is lit and burns passim the Olympics, determination volition beryllium two, some intended arsenic an homage to Leonardo da Vinci's geometric studies. One is successful Milan, 2½ miles (4 kilometers) from San Siro, and the different is going to beryllium 250 miles (400 kilometers) distant successful Cortina.

The radical fixed the grant of lighting some pursuing a ceremonial expected to past 2 1/2 hours was a intimately guarded secret, arsenic is usually the lawsuit astatine immoderate Olympics. At the 2006 Turin Games, it was Italian cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo.

It didn't precisely consciousness similar a Winter Games successful Milan, wherever the somesthesia was a tad beneath 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), and the entity was a crisp, wide azure each day Friday. Not a hint of clouds, fto unsocial snow.

As Italy welcomed the satellite by displaying symbols of its heritage, the amusement produced by Olympic ceremonial seasoned Marco Balich began with dancers from the academy of the famed Milan opera location Teatro alla Scala reimagining 18th-century sculptor Antonio Canova's marble works.

People wearing oversized, mascot-style heads representing opera composers Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi appeared connected the cardinal stage, earlier elephantine overgarment tubes floated supra and dropped silk of red, bluish and yellowish — the superior colors — earlier an aboriginal parade of various-color-wearing characters arrived successful the stadium. They represented euphony and art, lit and architecture, appreciations for quality and past and, supra all, "La Dolce Vita" (loosely, Italian for "The Good Life" and the sanction of a 1960 movie by Federico Fellini).

There were references to past Rome, the Renaissance, the Venice Carnival and the country's noted traditions successful assorted areas specified arsenic cuisine and literature, specified arsenic “Pinocchio” and Dante's “Inferno.”

A runway locomotion showcased outfits — created by the precocious manner decorator Giorgio Armani, who died past twelvemonth astatine 91 — successful the colors of Italy's flag: red, greenish and white. And balladeer Laura Pausini sang Italy's nationalist anthem.

Carey got large cheers successful Milan arsenic she sang successful Italian. In Cortina, hundreds of fans sang on with her, and a roar emerged erstwhile they realized she was performing the opus with the “Volare” refrain.

Another section touch: Italian histrion Sabrina Impacciatore, of "White Lotus" fame, was to present a conception that took viewers done a period of past Olympics, with examples of evolving equipment, sportswear and music. And histrion and comedian Brenda Lodigiani was invited to show the fashionable Italian manus gestures often utilized to pass successful spot of words.