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LIVE: Opening ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Games
The XXV Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina are open. Italian President Sergio Mattarella delivered the official opening speech at 10:50 p.m. on Friday at Milan's San Siro Stadium, giving the starting signal for the world's largest winter sports event. Three-time Olympic alpine skiing champions Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba lit the Olympic flame.
Three other venues for the event served as secondary locations for the ceremony – Cortina d'Ampezzo, Predazzo, and Livigno, where Olympic snowboard champions Anna Gasser and Benjamin Karl carried the Austrian flag.
However, only Gasser waved the flag, as Karl had it slung over his shoulder. "We thought we wanted to do something small, special, and really cool, so we came up with something," said two-time Olympic big air champion Gasser afterwards. "We underestimated the weight of that flag a little bit."
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The Olympic champion in alpine snowboarding had considered it an honor to be the flag bearer in the run-up to the event. "I've always wanted to be a flag bearer. Unlike your results as an athlete, that's not something you can control yourself. It was a great joy and honor, I was really moved to tears when I found out." Gasser enjoyed the small side celebration in Livigno: "It was a really cool atmosphere, we had fun and it was a really dignified opening of the Games."
Horst Nussbaumer, President of the Austrian Olympic Committee, has set a target of 18 medals this year, matching the number achieved in Beijing in 2022. The main ceremony of the opening ceremony, themed "Armonia" (harmony), will take place at the San Siro Stadium.
ÖOC athletes represented at all venues
A total of 19 red-white-red athletes registered with the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) to march in Livigno. Among them was snowboard freestyler Hanna Karrer on her 18th birthday, the youngest member of the ÖOC squad. In Cortina and in front of just over 1,000 spectators in Predazzo, seven ÖOC athletes each wanted to be there – some from luge and skeleton, others from ski jumping. However, the ski jumping crew left the celebrations early. In Milan, the speed skating crew marched in.
Athletes competing on Saturday in particular skipped the opening ceremony. Alpine speed specialist Ariane Rädler, for example, decided not to attend after delays in Friday's downhill training. "With the postponements, the day will be very long. We have to train, prepare, and watch videos," said the Vorarlberg native. However, she wanted to watch the three-hour spectacle on television. "It's definitely a cool experience, but the sport is more important to us." Like her teammates, she will be participating in the final training session on Saturday.
The Austria House was opened near Cortina before the opening of the Games. "The barn is beautifully done, it feels like coming home," said Vice-Chancellor and Minister of Sport Andreas Babler (SPÖ) in view of the atmosphere. ÖOC President Horst Nussbaumer said he was "very proud that everyone is here and experiencing the 'warm up' for the Games. Austrian conviviality and Austrian fighting spirit should be experienced in the house." In attendance were the ÖSV downhill skiers and Olympic champions such as Thomas Morgenstern, Franz Klammer, Matthias Mayer, Felix Gottwald, and Michaela Dorfmeister.
Starting signal for decisions in 116 competitions
Around 2,900 athletes from 92 nations will compete for gold, silver, and bronze in a total of 116 events in the north of the country, including in Bormio, Antholz, and the Predazzo cluster of Val di Fiemme and Tesero, until February 22. The competitions are divided into 54 for men, 50 for women, and 12 mixed events. The Olympic flames are now burning in Milan and Cortina. Nussbaumer had set a target of 18 medals, as she had done four years ago for the red-white-red team at the Corona Games in Beijing.
Tomba and Compagnoni light the fire
The opening ceremony in the 100-year-old soccer arena began with a tribute to the beauty and art of Italy. The approximately three-and-a-half-hour show, themed "Armonia" (harmony), was designed to reflect the character of these decentralized Games. For the first time in Olympic history, there are officially two host cities. These are the most geographically dispersed Winter Games ever. For the first time, there are also two Olympic fires – at the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) in downtown Milan and in Piazza Dibona in Cortina. They were lit a good half hour after the opening by Italian skiing heroes Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba, and Sofia Goggia.
Stars put on a show
In addition to US idol Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Cecilia Bartoli, and pianist Lang Lang graced the musical lineup for the opening party. US Vice President JD Vance and more than 50 heads of state and government were in the VIP box. Austria's federal government was represented primarily by Babler in Cortina. According to the recording, Mattarella had arrived at San Siro by tram, with motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi as the tram driver.
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