Olympic crowd’s boos for JD Vance show politics can’t be avoided at 2026 Winter Games
We’ll leave you with Flo Clifford’s report from inside San Siro:
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 23:03
The end of the Opening Ceremony
And that’s the end of that!
The Olympic cauldron under the Arco della Pace in Milan is lit by Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni (REUTERS)
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 22:30
The Olympic cualdrons are lit!
Italian legendary skiers Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni light one cauldron in Milan, I believe, as Sofia Goggia lights the cauldron simultaneously in Cortina.
They will both stay lit until the end of the Games.
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 22:29
Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony
The Olympic torch is being passed between various people, some of whom are celebrated Italian athletes such as skiier Sofia Goggia. It’s all a bit slow but the flame is slowly making its way towards the cauldron…
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 22:26
Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony
The great Eliud Kipchoge is one of a number of athletes who brings the Olympic flag into the stadium.
The Olympic Flag is carried by Tadatoshi Akiba, Rebeca Andrade, Maryam Bukar Hassan, Nicolo Govoni, Filippo Grandi, Eliud Kipchoge, Cindy Ngamba and Pita Taufatofua. (REUTERS)
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 22:16
Charlize Theron reads Mandela’s words
Performers dance to a reading of a poem about peace and rejecting war, before Charlize Theron takes the stage to deliver “a message of peace by my beloved countryman Nelson Mandela”.
“Peace is not just the absence of conflict; peace is the creation of an environment where all can flourish regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste or any other social markers of difference.”
She adds a “resounding call for peace everywhere”.
Charlize Theron (Getty Images)
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 22:07
Andrea Bocelli takes centre stage
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 21:59
Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony
Next up: Andrea Bocelli performing Nessun Dorma. Wonderful.
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 21:57
Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony
Kirsty Coventry, the IOC president, speaks now. “My fellow Olympians,” she says, playing on a key part of her election pledge, which was that she only recently was an athlete herself, rather than a career bureaucrat.
“Welcome to your Games. I know what it feels like, that mix of excitement and nerves, your whole life of hard work, early mronings, long days, sacrifices, setbacks, it all comes down to this. I know that feeling when you realise, this is it. You’ve made it. So first, be proud. And now, take it all in. Enjoy it. Enjoy every second.”
Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee during the Opening Ceremony (Peter Kneffel/POOL/PA Wire)
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 21:46
Winter Olympics – Opening Ceremony
“I love my country, I love sport, and I love the Olympic movement,” says president of the organising committee, Giovanni Magalo.
Lawrence Ostlere6 February 2026 21:37