The Milan Cortina Olympics officially open with a multi-site ceremony for a spread-out Winter Games

MILAN, Metropolitan City of Milan — An unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron Winter Olympics opening ceremony replete with references to Italian icons and culture — plus American pop diva Mariah Carey — officially started the Milan Cortina Games on Friday as the sports spectacle returns to a nation that last hosted the event 20 years ago. 

Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture — plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” aka “Volare” — an unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremony got the Milan Cortina Olympics officially started Friday.

Allowing athletes to participate in the Parade of Nations at the mountain locales for the most spread-out Winter Games in history created what perhaps was an unintended consequence: Zero competitors from any of the first five countries announced actually showed up at the main hub, Milan’s San Siro soccer stadium.

While signs bearing the names of Greece — which always leads the procession as the birthplace of the Olympics — Albania, Andorra, Saudi Arabia and Argentina were carried into the home of Serie A soccer titans AC Milan and Inter Milan, there were no athletes from those places around. Instead, they were participating at simultaneous festivities held at Cortina d’Ampezzo in the heart of the Dolomites, Livigno in the Alps, and Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.

The first country with athletes at San Siro was Armenia — and their entrance drew raucous cheers from a crowd filled with 61,000 ticket-holders plus others.

Later, a smattering of boos met Israel’s four representatives at the Milan ceremony. There have been some calls for Israel to be banned from the Olympics over the war in Gaza, which began with Hamas’ deadly attack in October 2023.

And while athletes from the U.S. were cheered when they appeared, Vice President JD Vance was jeered when he was shown briefly on the arena’s video boards from his spot in the tribune. Support for the United States among its allies has been eroding as the Trump administration has taken an aggressive posture on foreign policy, including punishing tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.

The contingent from Venezuela got a big backing when entering. So did that from Ukraine, where a war continues four years after Russia invaded.

The ceremony’s organizers have said they sought to convey themes of harmony and peace, seeking to represent the city-mountain dichotomy of the particularly unusual setup for these Olympics while also trying to appeal to a sense of unity at a time of global tensions. South African actor Charlize Theron and Italian rapper Ghali delivered messages of peace toward the end of the night.

“I hope the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful,” new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said when asked this week about possible crowd reactions.

The loudest greeting was reserved, naturally, for host Italy, which walked in last, to an electronic version of “The Barber of Seville.”

The ceremony was already nearly three hours old — and not yet done — by the time Italian President Sergio Mattarella officially declared the Milan Cortina Games open following a speech by Coventry, the first woman to lead the IOC.

“Thank you for believing in the magic of the Olympic Games,” she said, then several minutes later made sure to make mention of the “media rights holders” who pay to broadcast the event.

Soon, tenor Andrea Bocelli’s voice was belting out Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” and its closing refrain of “Vincerò,” Italian for “I will win!” As he concluded, torch bearers headed out of the arena toward a cauldron at the Arch of Peace, 2½ miles (4 kilometers) from San Siro.

One symbol of how far-flung things are at these Olympics: Instead of the usual one cauldron that is lit and burns throughout the Games, there were two, both intended as an homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies. The other is 250 miles (400 kilometers) away in Cortina.

All three flame-lighters — Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni in Milan, and Sofia Goggia in Cortina — are Olympic champion Alpine ski racers from Italy. Tomba and Compagnoni are retired; Goggia is entered in the 2026 Games.

The full collection of competition venues for the next two-plus weeks dot an area of about 8,500 square miles (more than 22,000 square kilometers), roughly the size of the entire state of New Jersey. The multi-city ceremony format Friday allowed up-in-the-mountains sports such as Alpine skiing, bobsled, curling and snowboarding to be represented without requiring folks to make the several-hours-long trek to Milan.

It didn’t exactly feel like a Winter Games in the country’s financial capital, where the temperature was a tad below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), and the sky was a crisp, clear azure all afternoon Friday. Not a trace of clouds, let alone snow.

As Italy welcomed the world by displaying symbols of its heritage, the show produced by Olympic ceremony veteran Marco Balich began with dancers from the academy of the famed Milan opera house Teatro alla Scala reimagining 18th-century sculptor Antonio Canova’s marble works.

People wearing oversized, mascot-style heads representing opera composers Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi appeared on the central stage, before giant paint tubes floated above and dropped silk of red, blue and yellow — the primary colors — before an early parade of various-color-wearing characters arrived in the stadium. They represented music and art, literature and architecture, appreciations for beauty and history and, above all, “La Dolce Vita” (loosely, Italian for “The Good Life” and the name of a 1960 film by Federico Fellini).

There were references to ancient Rome, the Renaissance, the Venice Carnival and the country’s noted traditions in various areas such as cuisine and literature, such as “Pinocchio” and Dante’s “Inferno.”

A runway walk showcased outfits — created by the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died last year at 91 — in the colors of Italy’s flag: red, green and white. And balladeer Laura Pausini sang Italy’s national anthem.

Carey got loud cheers in Milan as she sang in Italian. In Cortina, hundreds of fans sang along with her, and a roar emerged when they realized she was performing the song with the “Volare” refrain.

Another local touch: Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore, of “White Lotus” fame, led a segment that took viewers through a century of past Olympics, with examples of evolving equipment, sportswear and music. And actress and comedian Brenda Lodigiani demonstrated the popular Italian hand gestures often used to communicate in place of words.

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry contributed to this report.

International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry became the first woman to declare the Olympic Games open. 

“Thank you for believing in the magic of the Olympic Games,” she said, then several minutes later made sure to make mention of the “media rights holders” who pay to broadcast the event.

Coventry, from Zimbabwe, was elected last year and became the first female president in IOC history. 

“I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC President, and also the first from Africa,” she said in a statement at the time of her election. “I hope that this vote will be an inspiration to many people. Glass ceilings have been shattered today, and I am fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model.”

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has declared the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics open.

The declaration was followed by huge sparklers shooting from the stage.

Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore delivered a passionate dance routine with a troupe wearing dressed alternatively as hockey players and in colorful 1980s ski wear, a tribute to 100 years of Winter Olympics, including Cortina in 1956 and Turin in 2006.

Impacciatore is best known for international audiences for her role in the second season of “White Lotus” as the hotel manager in the Sicilian seaside town of Taormina.

During this routine, she acquainted the audience with some Italian classics, including a 1972 hit by Adriano Celentano with a driving beat and tongue-twisting nonsense lyrics meant to imitate English.

The name of the song says it all: “Prisencolinensinainciusol.’’ Try saying that out loud.

Stylish as ever in Emporio Armani, Italy’s athletes have signaled the end of the beloved Parade of Nations. And the home nation walked out to resounding cheers, and the rousing song from the iconic opening aria from the opera The Barber of Seville.

This marks the third time Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics: Cortina previously hosted in 1956, and Turin held the Games in 2006.

Italy has also hosted the Summer Olympics once, in Rome in 1960.

Cheers went up for U.S. athletes when they entered San Siro, but an image of U.S. Vice President JD Vance shown on screens was met with boos.

Vance attended the opening ceremony along with his wife, second lady Usha Vance, who was sitting next to former International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.

Vance and his wife cheered on the athletes,waving their handheld American flags and clapping. Vance is leading the U.S delegation.

Support for the U.S. among its allies has been eroding as the Trump administration has taken an aggressive posture on foreign policy, including punishing tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.

The Ukrainian delegation was met with deafening applause as athletes and staff entered San Siro.

Feb. 24 will mark four years since Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine.

Despite the ongoing war, athletes from Ukraine are still competing at the Games.

In case you’re wondering why the nations aren’t coming into the opening ceremony in alphabetical order, they are.

Greece, per Olympic tradition as the originator of the ancient games, almost always enters the ceremony first and then it shifts to alphabetical order — that is, the Italian alphabet.

And the final three nations to enter the ceremony will have nothing to do with the alphabet.

The U.S. goes third to last because it’ll host the 2034 Utah Games. France goes next to last because it’ll host the 2030 French Alps Games. And host Italy will be the final nation out.

As the birthplace of the Olympics, Greece always holds the honor of being the first delegation in the Parade of Nations.

More than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries will compete in this year’s Winter Games. The delegations will go in alphabetical order in Italian, though host nation Italy will close out the parade.

The opening ceremony sold out, with 61,000 people in attendance at San Siro, organizers said Friday. While ticket prices went as high as the symbolic sum of 2,026 euros (over $2,300), volunteers were offered a deal at 26 euros ($31) a piece, and people under 26 years old could buy two for the price of one.

Speedskater Erin Jackson, who was chosen by her teammates as one of this year’s flag bearers, said ahead of Team USA’s entrance during the Parade of Nations that she was excited to march, but even more excited to perform over the next several days. 

“It’s going to be momentum building,” Jackson said in Milan. “It’s going to start right here with my team next to me, and we’re going to carry that energy right onto the track.”

Because the Milan Cortina Olympics are the most spread-out in history, there isn’t just one Opening Ceremony.

For athletes unable to make it to Milan because they’re competing hundreds of miles away, such as Lindsey Vonn in Cortina, the NBC broadcast cut between the main delegation marching for the March of Nations in Milan and smaller delegations in other locations

After a series of quick performances by Italian artists, five golden rings were floated over the stage into one of the most recognizable symbols in the world: the Olympic Rings. As the rings rose above the stadium, they erupted in a burst of fireworks, bathing the arena in golden bronze light. 

The rings, traditionally colored red, yellow, black, green and blue, contain a color found in every flag on the planet. Their interconnected nature is meant to symbolize the world coming together, despite conflict, for the Olympic Games. 

The Opening Ceremony began with a dance routine featuring angelic performers on a circular stage, lit up by flashing spiral lights in the floor. The dance, surrounded by statues depicting famed marble busts, highlights Italy’s long history of art. 

After, a prarade of music note-wearing dancers took the stage along with actor and singer Matilda De Angelis, accompanied by giant paint tubes floating over the stage, with another performance meant to highlight Italian artistic influences: this time in music. 

The iconic singer took the stage at the 2026 Olympics to perform a medley song, mixing the 1958 Italian classic “Volare” with her own song “Nothing is impossible.” 

Carey donned a white dress, embellished with crystal beading in a sunburst pattern, with a white feather coat for the occasion. 

In Cortina, hundreds of fans sang along with Carey in Italian, and there was an audible roar when they realized she was performing “Volare.”

This is the most spread-out Olympics — Summer or Winter — in history, with competition venues dotting an area of about 8,500 square miles (more than 22,000 square kilometers), roughly the size of the entire state of New Jersey.

The main hub Friday is in Milan at San Siro soccer stadium, which is home to Serie A titans AC Milan and Inter Milan, opened a century ago and is due to be razed and replaced in the next few years. There also will be three other places where athletes can march, some carrying their country’s flag: Cortina d’Ampezzo in the heart of the Dolomite mountains; Livigno in the Alps; Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.

That allows up-in-the-mountains sports such as Alpine skiing, bobsled, curling and snowboarding to be represented in the Parade of Nations without needing to make the several-hours-long trek to Milan, the country’s financial capital, and back.

For good measure, the Feb. 22 closing ceremony will be held in yet another locale, Verona, where Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” was set.

Another symbol of how far-flung things are this time: Instead of the usual one cauldron that is lit and burns throughout the Olympics, there will be two, both intended as an homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies. One is in Milan, 2½ miles (4 kilometers) from San Siro, and the other is going to be 250 miles (400 kilometers) away in Cortina.

“Today,” host Savannah Guthrie was set to be part of NBC’s coverage for the Opening Ceremony team. But a week before the Opening Ceremony, her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared in what authorities believe was a kidnapping from her Arizona home. 

Guthrie flew to Arizona to be with her family, forcing NBC to make a last minute adjustment to the schedule. 

NBC Sports announced Wednesday that longtime Olympic broadcaster Mary Carillo will replace Guthrie, alongside Terry Gannon for Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

As the network’s coverage began ahead of the Opening Ceremony, both hosts acknowledged the elephant in the room. 

“We’re certainly without a very important, beloved, member of our team tonight,” Gannon said. “Our friend, and colleague, Savannah Guthrie … she is dearly missed by everybody here.”

Carillo, who flew to Italy in Guthrie’s place, agreed. 

“She sure is, she’s covered so many Olympics … and she loves them,” Carillo said. “Right now, of course, Savannah and her family are in unspeakable, unfathomable pain. We know in the U.S. that her extended family is legion. Savannah my friend, it’s the same way” 

The people given the honor of lighting both was a closely guarded secret, as is usually the case at any Olympics. At the Turin Winter Games in 2006, it was Italian cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo.

Other links to Italy’s heritage scheduled to be a part of Friday’s festivities include a performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli; classically trained dancers from the academy of the famed Milan opera house, Teatro alla Scala; a tribute to the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died last year at 91. Armani designed the Olympic and Paralympic uniforms for the Italian national team for decades, and was a personal friend of the former president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò.

Plenty more planned for Friday was being kept under wraps by organizers who said they sought to convey themes of harmony and peace, seeking to represent the city-mountain dichotomy of the particularly unusual setup for these Olympics while also trying to appeal to a sense of unity at a time of global tensions.

Another unknown: What sort of reception would greet U.S. Vice President JD Vance when he attended the ceremony in Milan? And what about the American athletes?

When new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry was asked this week what sort of greeting the U.S. delegation would get when they enter San Siro in the Parade of Nations, she replied: “I hope the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful.”

Associated Press writer Colleen Barry contributed to this report.