Let’s go ! The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics officially start this Friday. While the first events took place on Thursday, the opening ceremony which will officially open the Olympic fortnight will take place this Friday evening. Here’s everything you need to know about the event!
What time to see the opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will begin at 8 p.m. this Friday. It should last around 2h30.
Where will the opening ceremony take place?
Like Paris, Milan and Cortina imagined a floating ceremony, organized in several locations simultaneously. Two major locations: the legendary San Siro stadium in Milan on the one hand, and Piazza Dibona, in the heart of Cortina d’Ampezzo. “Athletes will also be able to parade in Predazzo and Livigno”, which also host events, specifies the organization. More than 1,200 volunteers are expected to perform on the different stages.
What is the planned program for the ceremony?
This is always one of the challenges of these opening and closing ceremonies: the programming, which we always expect to be scintillating!
With a large Italian dominance, obviously, that of Milan-Cortina 2026 has already announced the presence of the tenor Andrea Bocelli, already present in 2006 at the closing ceremony of the Turin Games, the singer Laura Pausini, the actor Pierfrancesco Favino, the actress Sabrina Impacciatore, notably known for her role in The White Lotus, and the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. International stars will also join the party: the immense Mariah Carey, essential for snowy atmospheres, and the Chinese pianist Lang Lang.
After a pre-show of 30 minutes, the opening ceremony will be divided into eight scenes and will notably illustrate Italy, its history, its landscapes, its beauty, through a tribute to the neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova or even a staging of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.
It will also highlight during a parade characters symbolizing Italian imagination and creativity over the centuries, from Ancient Rome to the Renaissance, including the Venice Carnival, without forgetting the cuisine, literature and fashion, which make Italy rich and famous worldwide. It is in this painting in particular that Mariah Carey will sing famous Italian music in an outfit created by a designer from the country.
The organization chose to appoint model Vittoria Ceretti to bring the huge Italian flag onto the San Siro stage before the anthem sung by Laura Pausini. The ceremony will continue with a musical ode to Italy, which will highlight the link between the city and the mountains, symbols of these winter Olympic Games taking place in several cities in the North of the country.
After around forty minutes of spectacle, it’s time for the parade of athletes from the 92 participating delegations, which will be spread across the four competition sites for more than an hour. But it won’t be over! A video will celebrate 100 years of the Winter Olympics before a stage show through the decades.
Where and when will the Olympic cauldrons be lit?
Arriving in Milan on Thursday, the Olympic flame will be used to light the cauldrons at the end of the ceremony this Friday evening. Two basins have in fact been installed, one at the Arco della Pace in Milan and the other in Piazza Dibona in Cortina, and will be lit simultaneously.
Who are the standard bearers of the French delegation?
Alpine skier Clément Noël and snowboarder Chloe Trespeuch were designated by the CNOSF to be the French flag bearers during this opening ceremony.
In total, 162 French athletes will take part in the events and according to the president of the CNOSF, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, 130 athletes of them will participate in the opening ceremony, including 73 in Milan and 23 in Livigno.
How many delegations will participate in the ceremony?
In total, nearly 3,500 athletes from 93 countries are participating in the competition. Not everyone will undoubtedly be present at the opening ceremony this Friday evening. 20 individual athletes competing under neutral banner are registered.
