Overview
- The Opening Ceremony unfolded across Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo, with San Siro as the main stage and the Olympic flames ignited simultaneously at Milan’s Arco della Pace and Cortina’s Piazza Dibona.
- President Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open after a filmed arrival on a historic tram whose driver was revealed as Valentino Rossi.
- Ninety‑two nations took part in a distributed Parade of Nations following Olympic protocol with Greece first and host Italy last.
- Organisers reported about 2,900 athletes involved, a cast of more than 1,300 and over 950 operational staff, with a global TV audience expected to exceed two billion.
- Laura Pausini sang Italy’s anthem as Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and Ghali featured prominently, while Italy’s 146 athletes appeared across the four sites led by Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino in Milan and Federica Brignone and Amos Mosaner in Cortina.