Paul Petrecca becomes the king of barroom discussions

The voice that played in the background at the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, watched by millions of Italians, has become recognizable to everyone in just a few hours: it is that of Paolo Petrecca, suddenly a celebrity and king of discussions, especially from bars. Roman, born in 1964, Petrecca is a well-known name in Italian journalism, active in both sports and politics. After graduating in Literature, he started his career in the 1990s in local television stations in Rome, covering sports, news and current affairs. He later joined the Roman editorial staff of RTL 102.5 and worked for Stream TV, where he commented on Champions League matches, produced reports and interviews on Serie A.

Aldo Seghedoni

His landing at Rai dates back to 2001, when he joined TG2 as an editor. From there the path is steadily upward: he moves to Rai News 24 as head of service in the Coordination of Editions, then enters the Political-Institutional editorial staff and progressively holds the positions of editor-in-chief and deputy editor. An important turning point comes on November 18, 2021, when the Rai Board of Directors approves his appointment as director of Rai News 24, Televideo and Rainews.it.

On the eve of the Winter Games, after a period of strained relations with the editorial staff of Rai News 24, Petrecca was chosen as director of Rai Sport. A role of great responsibility, to which was added at the last moment also that of commentator of the opening ceremony.

Originally, in fact, his name was not expected: the commentary had been entrusted to Auro Bulbarelli, a longtime sports journalist and former director of Rai Sport. However, the early release of the news about the presence of President Sergio Mattarella would have triggered a sudden change. The former CONI president, Giovanni Malagò, strongly denied it, even showing some annoyance at what was called an undue anticipation, which later turned out to be correct. This was confirmed by the video, much appreciated by the public, of Mattarella on the streetcar driven by Valentino Rossi. After the reversal, next to Petrecca remained the writer Fabio Genovesi, already accustomed to this kind of commentary thanks also to the Giro d’Italia, and Stefania Belmondo, a great cross-country skiing champion, who was, however, often interrupted during her speeches.

From the first lines, there was no shortage of inaccuracies. Petrecca, a Lazio fan, mentioned the Stadio Olimpico in Rome instead of San Siro. Soon after, he confused Matilda De Angelis with Mariah Carey, stars of the show at different times. He then mistook IOC President Kirsty Coventry for President Mattarella’s daughter. A joke he made about the sequence dedicated to Verdi, Rossini and Puccini also caused discussion: “If Puccini had been called Bianchini we would have had Rossini, Bianchini and Verdi to represent the colors of our flag.”

The strongest criticism, however, came from the volleyball world. The director of Rai Sport did not recognize Simone Giannelli, captain of the men’s national team and two-time world champion. Of the six volleyball players carrying the flashlight, he mentioned only Paola Egonu, without mentioning Carlotta Cambi, Anna Danesi, Simone Anzani, and Luca Porro. Giannelli himself later commented on the incident on Instagram with irony: “Thanks to the commentators, only Paola Egonu is famous,” adding immediately afterwards, “But let’s not take it to heart…it was nice anyway.”