Excitement is rising across Italy ahead of the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, which will take place at Milan’s San Siro Stadium on Friday evening. The three-hour event will officially launch the Games, the first Winter Olympics to be hosted by two cities simultaneously.
The ceremony will feature a strong musical line-up, with American singer Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Golden Globe-winning pop star Laura Pausini all set to perform. Their appearances underline the international and cultural weight of an opening event designed to showcase both Italy’s global outlook and its artistic heritage.
Around 50 world leaders are expected to attend, including United States Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alongside Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will also be present.
Security measures in Milan are already extremely tight. Authorities have stepped up controls following rioting in Turin last week during a march against the closure of a left-wing social centre. The presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Italy during the Games has also sparked controversy, adding to the heightened security climate.
Spread across three regions
The Milano Cortina Games mark a significant first for the Olympic movement. Events are spread across three regions — Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige — reflecting the scale and logistical ambition of the project. While Milan hosts the main opening ceremony, parallel celebrations and athlete parades will take place on Friday in Predazzo, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
A symbolic highlight of the opening will be the lighting of two Olympic cauldrons at the same time. Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knot designs, one cauldron will be lit beneath Milan’s Arch of Peace, while the second will burn in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona, reinforcing the dual-host identity of the Games.
Competition underway
Although the official ceremony takes place on Friday, Olympic competition is already under way. Curling mixed doubles began on Wednesday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, followed by the start of women’s ice hockey in Milan on Thursday. Italy opened its campaign with a landmark 4-1 victory over France, securing the women’s national team’s first-ever Olympic win in the sport.
On Thursday, President Sergio Mattarella visited the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Village in Milan as anticipation continued to build. During the visit, he signed the Olympic Truce Wall and met with Italian athletes preparing to compete.
“The first competition is with oneself and with one’s limits, to surpass and improve oneself,” Mattarella said. While expressing hope for medals, he stressed that commitment, fairness and respect for others mattered more than results alone.
He added that the Games offer the world “a spectacle of extraordinary value, of coexistence, friendship and humanity”.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics run from 6 to 22 February.
