Born from the work of a multidisciplinary creative group, brought together and led by
the Balich Wonder Studio, the event saw an unprecedented Parade, with athletes parading in the venues closest to the competition venues, minimizing logistical travel. The fashion show was preceded by the Mameli anthem, sung by Laura Pausini and resounded simultaneously in the two host cities. The solemn moment of the flag-raising was opened by the model Vittoria Ceretti, who delivered the Tricolor to the Cuirassier Corps. At the same time, in Cortina, the members of the Turin 2006 cross-country skiing gold relay — Fulvio Valbusa, Giorgio Di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer and Cristian Zorzi — made the same gesture, entrusting the flag to the Carabinieri.
146 athletes of the Italia Team were the protagonists of the Opening Ceremony: at San Siro, led by the flag-bearers Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino and with the Secretary General of CONI and Head of Mission Carlo Mornati, 70 Azzurri of five disciplines (short track, figure skating, speed skating, ice hockey and cross-country skiing) paraded - under the enthusiastic gaze of the President of CONI Luciano Buonfiglio -, with the exception of some athletes involved in the races on Saturday 7 February. On the other hand, there were 35 (curling, alpine skiing, skeleton and luge), led by the standard bearers Federica Brignone and Amos Mosaner, who paraded in Cortina. Finally, 13 athletes from three disciplines (ski jumping, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined) paraded in Predazzo, while 28 from four disciplines (ski mountaineering, alpine skiing, freestyle and snowboarding) did the same in Livigno.
"I lost my sense of direction when I entered the stadium. I am speechless. It was unforgettable. A great good luck to the Italia Team", said Pellegrino, while Fontana - who had already paraded with the Italian flag at the 2018 edition of PyeongChang - did not hide his emotion: "I was moved. We all sang together and gave ourselves a huge boost". "I didn't imagine the moment, I just wanted to live it without having too many expectations. It was a giant emotion," said Brignone from Cortina, carried on her shoulders for a few meters by Mosaner, fresh from today's two victories in the mixed doubles curling round robin with Stefania Constantini: "It was a truly unforgettable day and one that will remain forever in my heart," said the reigning Olympic and world champion.
"We are ready to make history again. In the coming weeks we will see a pioneering edition of the Games over a very large territory. Italian beauty does not belong only to us, but has been handed down to us by history and is a responsibility. Tradition is not the cult of ashes but the preservation of fire," said the President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation Giovanni Malagò, before the speech of the IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, who as a swimmer won two Olympic gold medals in the 200-meter backstroke and who wished the athletes to "savor every moment" and "show what it means to dream, overcome difficulties and respect each other".
Then, from the grandstand of San Siro, the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, officially declared the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games open, as did his predecessors Giovanni Gronchi (in 1956 in Cortina and in 1960 in Rome) and Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (in 2006 in Turin). Subsequently, the orchestra and the voice of Andrea Bocelli kicked off the last journey of the Olympic Flame from San Siro, while in Cortina Stefania Constantini and Dominik Fischnaller took part in the Olympic Oath. In the Milanese facility, the sacred fire passed from the hands of the reigning Olympic and world champion volleyball players, captain Anna Danesi, Paola Egonu and Carlotta Cambi to those of their colleagues from the men's national team, also world champions, captain Simone Giannelli, Simone Anzani and Luca Porro. Then it was the turn in Milan of the multiple Olympic champion cross-country skier Manuela Di Centa and the gold luge of the 1994 edition of Lillehammer, Gerda Weissensteiner. Then it was the turn of Enrico Fabris, winner of two gold medals in speed skating in Turin 2006, with Gustav Thoeni, Olympic champion in alpine skiing, protagonist in Cortina. For the first time in history, two braziers were lit simultaneously: one at the Arco della Pace and the other in Piazza Angelo Dibona, in Cortina. A perfect synchronism, sealed by the emotion of the last torchbearers, the three-time Olympic alpine skiing champions Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni in Milan and the gold medallist of PyeongChang 2018, at her third Olympics with the Italian colors, Sofia Goggia in the Ampezzo resort.
It is the final act of a ceremony that also involved a brand of Italian excellence such as Giorgio Armani - a few months after the death of the designer, whose maison has been the Official Outfitter of the Italia Team since the London 2012 Summer Games -, Italian artists such as the rapper Ghali and the mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, the actors Matilda De Angelis, Pierfrancesco Favino and Sabrina Impacciatore, as well as international stars such as Mariah Carey and a moved Charlize Theron. A tribute to the beauty and creativity of Italy and a universal message of peace in the name of Harmony, the theme and leitmotif of the entire Opening Ceremony. Now the Olympics can really get into full swing. (AGC)
PHOTO CREDITS
Milan - Ferdinando Mezzelani-Luca Pagliaricci-Claudio Scaccini/CONI
Cortina - Simone Ferraro-Giuseppe Giugliano/CONI
Livigno - Roberto Di Tondo/CONI
Predazzo - Gianpaolo Piazzi/CONI
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