![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n
Athletes also gathered in a more intimate ceremony in snow-covered Cortina, the chic resort 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Milan that is hosting the women\u2019s alpine skiing. There were also celebrations in Livigno and Predazzo elsewhere in the Italian Alps.<\/p>\n
Team Australia during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan. Picture: AP Photo\/Hassan AmmarSource: AP<\/p>\n
Australia was one of the first teams to be introduced to fans, with 53 athletes marching proudly from the largest team Australia has ever sent to a Winter Games. <\/p>\n
Aussie flag bearers Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony \u2013 two of Australia\u2019s big medal hopes \u2014 led the way for the Aussie contingent in Livigno, while there were some green and gold representatives at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan.<\/p>\n
Team Australia was well received by the Italian crowd, while some of the loudest applause during the parade was for the Ukraine team. Russian athletes taking part as neutrals because of Olympic sanctions following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine were not included in the parade.<\/p>\n
Matt Graham and Jakara Anthony, of Team Australia enter with the team into the parade at Livigno Snow Park. Picture: Cameron Spencer\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The US team also got loud cheers \u2014 but when US Vice President JD Vance was shown on the screen, he was booed by some spectators.<\/p>\n
Vance and his wife Usher were seated next to former President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach. Fans earlier were instructed not to boo.<\/p>\n
But the boos still came when the Vance\u2019s were shown on a large screen at the San Siro stadium, both applauding and waving flags as the US athletes filed past in the ceremonial parade.<\/p>\n
Hundreds protested in Milan earlier on Friday against Vance\u2019s visit and the presence of some agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE to help protect the American delegation.<\/p>\n
Vance also on Friday met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a fellow conservative who is close to US President Donald Trump, and hailed \u201cshared values\u201d with Italy.<\/p>\n
JD Vance, Vice President of the United States, attends the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at San Siro Stadium. Picture: Andreas Rentz\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics open on Friday during a glittering ceremony at the San Siro stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cI declare the Games open,\u201d Mattarella told a packed crowd at the famous arena, one of a number of venues across northern Italy marking the opening of the Games.<\/p>\n
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, overseeing her first Games, told the athletes: \u201cThrough you, we see the very best of ourselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remind us that we can be brave. That we can be kind. That we can get back up, no matter how hard we fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe spirit of the Olympic Games is about so much more than sport. It is about us \u2013 and what makes us human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Italy’s Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni light the Olympic flame next to the Arco della Pace monument in Milan. Picture: JULIEN DE ROSA \/ AFPSource: AFPItaly’s torchbearer Sofia Goggia lights the cauldron in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Picture: Marco BERTORELLO \/ AFPSource: AFP<\/p>\n
Two cauldrons were simultaneously \u2014 one in Milan and another in Cortina \u2014 by Italian skiing greats Alberto Tomba, Deborah Compagnoni and Sofia Goggia.<\/p>\n
Tomba and Compagnoni jointly lit the cauldron at Milan\u2019s Arch of Peace, while Goggia lit the one in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo \u2014 the resort 400km from Milan that is hosting the women\u2019s alpine skiing.<\/p>\n
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, left, addresses attendees as President of the Milan Cortina 2026 foundation Giovanni Malago looks on. Picture: AP Photo\/Petr David JosekSource: AP<\/p>\n
Under tight security, with helicopters buzzing over the San Siro, the curtain went up on the Games in a burst of colour and light.<\/p>\n
The San Siro show began with dancers from the famed Teatro alla Scala\u2019s academy taking centre stage, accompanied by symbols of Italian beauty and design.<\/p>\n
The opening scenes also paid tribute to Italy\u2019s rich cultural heritage, with performers wearing outsized heads of the three great masters of Italian opera: Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini.<\/p>\n
American diva Mariah Carey took centre stage with the crowd singing along as she performed in a white sequined dress with feathers, singing \u201cVolare\u201d in Italian and \u201cNothing is Impossible\u201d.<\/p>\n
Carey stunned in a sparkling silver dress while singing the song \u201cVolare\u201d in Italian during the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies.<\/p>\n
Creative director Marco Balich revealed in January that the Queen of Pop was going to perform \u201ca beautiful song in Italian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Singer Mariah Carey performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Picture: AP Photo\/Natacha PisarenkoSource: AP<\/p>\n
\u201cShe will enchant many of us,\u201d Balich said. Carey\u2019s mum, Patricia, was an Opera singer.<\/p>\n
Twenty years after the 2006 Torino closing ceremony, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli \ufeffsang \u2018Nessun Dorma\u2019 in one of the most breathtaking moments of the ceremony.<\/p>\n
Singer Andrea Bocelli performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Picture: AP Photo\/Petr David JosekSource: AP<\/p>\n
The ceremony also paid tribute to the late Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani, with dozens of models wearing red, green, and white suits honouring his legacy.<\/p>\n
A video showed Italian President Sergio Mattarella arriving at the stadium on one of the city\u2019s traditional yellow trams driven by Italian MotoGP great Valentino Rossi.<\/p>\n
\u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have opened with a glittering ceremony at the San Siro stadium echoed by celebrations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[237164,2095,237590,237036,237159,64,237599,63,237591,237166,32742,237163,2057,2105,237596,8381,49853,237593,237167,237598,83818,237594,237168,2328,220527,237592,237595,237161,107036,29333,235765,83362,19269,12280,2041,2067,195276,222600,237162,237589,3595,85,237597,6750,2614],"class_list":["post-463299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-alberto-tomba","tag-america","tag-american-delegation","tag-american-singer","tag-andrea-bocelli","tag-au","tag-aussie-flag-bearers","tag-australia","tag-chic-resort","tag-chinese-pianist","tag-creative-director","tag-deborah-compagnoni","tag-europe","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-giacomo-calvi","tag-giorgia-meloni","tag-giorgio-armani","tag-gold-representatives","tag-immigration-enforcement-agency","tag-international-olympic-committee-thomas-bach","tag-italian-fashion","tag-italian-government","tag-italian-tenor","tag-italy","tag-jakara-anthony","tag-lang-lang","tag-leonardo-schiavi","tag-marco-balich","tag-marco-rubio","tag-mariah-carey","tag-matt-graham","tag-medal-hopes","tag-milan","tag-new-york-post-company","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-opening-ceremony","tag-origin-match","tag-positive-messages","tag-san-siro-inc","tag-southern-europe","tag-sports","tag-star-studded-ceremony","tag-start-time","tag-united-states-of-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}