2026 Olympics: what you didn’t see on TV at the opening ceremony of the Milan/Cortina Games
How do you follow in the footsteps of the unforgettable opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, perhaps the finest of the 55 held in history? Milan/Cortina 2026 has chosen the opposite approach, to avoid any comparisons. Back to a stadium, with little recorded footage, and a more traditional programme. Without naming the French edition, the Italian organising committee has decided to fall in line.
By trying too hard to be consensual, where Paris had broken the codes, the ceremony for the 25th Winter Olympics remained too tame on Friday 6 February. The highlights were expected: the Fratelli d’Italia anthem sung by Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocceli singing Nessum Dorma during the arrival of the flame (echoing Luciano Pavarotti two decades earlier in Turin) and Mariah Carey singing Nel blu, dipinto di blu. These were all performances that had been announced in advance, and which did not surprise many people. There were no tears during theoverly mechanical lighting of the flame, and no improvised dance floor in the stands during the tableaux: everything was too tightly framed, in line with the standards of an Olympic opening ceremony in the 21st century.
Stadium almost full, despite forecasts
There were no glitches on the night, and both the IOC and the Organising Committee could deliberately claim that the show was memorable. However, the show could have been spoiled by a half-empty stadium. The prohibitive prices (€260 to €2,026) dampened the ardour of the fans, and the San Siro was slow to fill up. Milan/Cortina 2026 therefore stepped up its advertising campaigns and ended up having to sell off its tickets.
-50% off for those who bought their tickets in the last week, and even 90% off for volunteers, who were informed of this opportunity just a few days before the ceremony. With 10,000 tickets still to be sold on the eve of the event, the stadium was finally at least 90% full, and the empty seats were not visible on television. To avoid hollow spaces, some seats were upgraded, to better distribute the spectators.
They were also encouraged to arrive (very) early, with a succession of notifications and emails in the days leading up to the ceremony. The doors opened more than four hours before the start of the ceremony, to avoid congestion at the entrances. A wise decision given Milan’s transport plan. Two hours after the end of the ceremony, there were still several thousand people waiting outside the metro entrance, where 450 people were filtered through the gates. A far cry from the facilities of the Stade de France, with its two RER lines and three metro lines.
JD Vance booed, Ukraine acclaimed
During the 3hrs 29min show(compared to 2hrs 17mins in Pyeongchang and 3hrs 00mins in Vancouver), the spectators in Lombardy were much better off than those in Cortina d’Ampezzo(where the biathletes were on parade) and Predazzo (cross-country skiers, jumpers, combined), as most of the events took place in front of them. The only moment of hesitation was the athletes’ parade. While the television coverage of what was to become the norm was surprisingly good, these parallel parades gave rise to some unusual images. We had to wait until the sixth country to see athletes marching in the stadium.
In addition to Italy, Brazil, Jamaica and Ukraine were particularly praised. The same was true of the United States… until its vice-president, JD Vance, appeared on the giant screens. Whistles came from the audience. A few seconds earlier, Donald Trump ‘s running mate had refrained from applauding Venezuela. But the main boos were directed at Israel, even if they were toned down on the retransmission. A minor winter sports nation, the Hebrew state has been criticised for its policy in the Gaza Strip, deemed genocidal by the UN.
Long speeches are a turn-off for audiences
While whistles for Emmanuel Macron punctuated the ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, President Sergio Mattarella received several cheers. The crowd even started chanting his name when he announced the opening of the Games. Although he has been in office for 10 years, he holds only honorary positions and does not conduct domestic policy.
His speech was brief, unlike those of IOC President Kirsty Coventry and Organising Committee President Giovanni Malago. Intrinsic to the opening ceremonies, these speeches break the rhythm and are of very limited interest, so similar are they from one edition to the next. As a result, spectators took refuge on their mobile phones, especially as they were delivered in English…
Mariah Carey, one of the main stars of the evening, tried her hand at Italian for her appearance. While her impeccable performance may have sounded like playback to some, it was anything but. The American was the only artist to use a teleprompter during the evening. Placed in front of her, it allowed her to follow the thread of her performance. And to realise that Verdi’s language was not yet her own: the lyrics were written phonetically… And what if this was the unforgettable moment of an all too classic evening?
[in Milan]
- Anterselva Biathlon Arena: everything you need to know about the Antholz venue, home of the biathlon events at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium: everything you need to know about the Val di Fiemme stadium, which hosts the cross-country skiing events at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games.
- Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium: everything you need to know about the venue hosting the ski jumping and Nordic combined events at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games.
- The full biathlon programme at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- The full cross-country skiing programme at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- The full programme for ski jumping at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- The full Nordic combined programme at the Milan/Cortina Olympic Games
- The podium in the heat of the moment: the Olympic medals will be presented at the competition site immediately after the events.
- Rule 40: the IOC ban that poisons the relationship between athletes and their sponsors during the Olympic Games
- 2026 Olympics: France TV and Eurosport’s coverage of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympics
