Milan Cortina 2026, the day of the Opening Ceremony at San Siro has arrived

The day has arrived for the official start of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics with an Opening Ceremony destined to enchant the world. Starting at 8 p.m., the lights of the San Siro will be turned on to kick off the Games. It will not be the classic parade confined within a single arena: the Italian one will be the first real shared opening ceremony in Olympic history. A great collective embrace capable of uniting the beating heart of the Lombard metropolis with the snowy peaks of Cortina, Livigno and Val di Fiemme. Prominent among the authorities present will be the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, announced with a central role in the evening’s narrative.

The most powerful symbol of this bond will be the simultaneous lighting of two Olympic braziers: one in Milan, which is expected to be entrusted to Alberto Tomba, and the other in the Dolomites. Real technological giants clad in thousands of low-consumption lights. Not mere containers of the flame, but self-propelled structures that open and close like a breath. The design pays homage to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci, recalling those interwoven motifs with which the master narrated the balance between man and nature

Approximately 5,000 athletes will parade, but the ceremony will also feature major players from other sports. For volleyball, six Italian world champions will be present: Giannelli, Anzani, Porro, Danesi, Egonu and Cambi. For soccer, in their stadium, Franco Baresi and Beppe Bergomi will symbolically take the field, protagonists of a derby charged with meaning and memory. Giving voice and soul to the evening will be an artistic parterre that mixes the international appeal of Hollywood with the excellence of Italian music.

The most resounding surprise will be the presence of global pop icons such as Mariah Carey, who is expected to perform “Nel blu dipinto di blu,” alongside the pillars of our song: Andrea Bocelli and Laura Pausini, who will be responsible for performing the anthem, to the contemporary sound of Ghali.

The tale of Italian identity will also be entrusted to the likes of Pierfrancesco Favino, Sabrina Impacciatore and Matilda De Angelis, ready to turn the stadium into a theater. An interweaving of classical music, rap and spoken word, orchestrated around the theme of harmony: the all-Italian ability to make seemingly opposite worlds, such as the concrete of the city and the ice of the mountains, dialogue.