Red-hot Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opens

The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened on Friday with a glittering ceremony at the San Siro stadium echoed by festivities at Games venues across the snow-capped Italian Alps.

The extravaganza reflected the most geographically widespread Olympics in history.

It culminated in the lighting of two cauldrons, one at Milan's Arch of Peace and one in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the chic resort 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Milan that is hosting the women's alpine skiing.

The Olympic cauldron under the Arco della Pace in Milan is lit by Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni. Reuters

Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two Italian skiing Olympic champions of the past, lit an intricate cauldron inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's knot patterns at Milan's Arch of Peace.

In the freezing mountain air of Cortina, the task fell to Sofia Goggia – an Italian former gold medallist who had earlier taken part in a training run for the women's downhill event. Sofia Goggia had a key role in securing the hosting rights of the Milan Cortina Olympics for Italy. So it seemed fitting that the Italian downhiller lit the cauldron in Cortina to conclude Friday’s opening ceremony.

The ceremony also paid a tribute to late fashion giant Giorgio Armani.

The ceremony in Milan showcased Italy's rich cultural heritage, with a nod to late fashion giant Giorgio Armani.

Loud boos

An otherwise harmonious event was punctuated by loud boos from the crowd when US Vice President JD Vance appeared on the big screen at the San Siro stadium.

US singer Mariah Carey performs during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the San Siro Stadium in Milan. Agence France-Presse

But the US team received loud applause from spectators as they began their parade.

There has been anger in Italy over the presence of agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE as part of security for the American delegation, even though the Italian government has said the agents will not have any operational role on its soil.

Performers at the San Siro show wore outsized heads of the three great masters of Italian opera – Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini while American diva Mariah Carey, in a white sequinned dress with feathers, sang "Volare" in Italian and "Nothing is Impossible".

IOC president Kirsty Coventry blows a kiss during the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan. Agence France-Presse

Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli got a rapturous reception after performing "Nessun Dorma" and dozens of models honoured Armani by streaming across the stage wearing red, green, and white trouser suits.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open after International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry told the competitors: "You remind us that we can be brave, that we can be kind, that we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall."

In a first, 2,900 athletes paraded in the venues closest to where they will compete in the February 6-22 Games, in a bid to minimise travel.

Agencies