Overview
- Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open at Milan’s San Siro in a multi‑site ceremony that featured Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and simultaneous cauldron lightings in Milan and Cortina.
- Crowd reactions became a flashpoint as US Vice President JD Vance and the Israeli team were booed, while media reviews ranged from praise for the production to sharp criticism of the staging in Predazzo.
- The first medals are being decided today with the men’s downhill in Bormio, women’s normal hill ski jumping in Predazzo, speed skating and snowboard finals, plus early luge runs in Cortina.
- ARD’s opening broadcast suffered early sound problems that prompted an on‑air apology before improving, yet the telecast still averaged about 5.23 million viewers for a 22.3% market share in Germany.
- Weather disruptions at Berlin’s BER forced ZDF moderator Florian Zschiedrich to miss his planned on‑site debut, while men’s ice hockey with NHL players starts Feb. 11 and Germany opens Feb. 12 against Denmark with flagbearer Leon Draisaitl on the roster.