The opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics set an attendance record on February 6 night, with more than 61,000 tickets sold at Milan’s San Siro stadium.
Around 10,000 additional spectators followed the ceremony from other venues as events unfolded across a wide stretch of northern Italy. Organisers said operations at the iconic football stadium ran smoothly, though it was too early to release broadcast figures.
«It was a major challenge and we are very proud of what we achieved,» said Andrea Varnier, chief executive of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation. «From an organisational standpoint everything went very well, which was not easy in such a unique setting.»
The International Olympic Committee said the only concern raised was the length of the show, which lasted about three and a half hours.
Ceremony staged across four locations
For the first time, athletes took part in a parade spread across four locations. Two Olympic cauldrons were lit simultaneously and will burn throughout the Games, one at Milan’s Arco della Pace and the other in Piazza Dibona in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
IOC executive director Christophe Dubi praised the spectacle but acknowledged the timing issue.
«It was elegant, beautiful and deeply Italian while remaining universal,» he said. «The only remark was the duration, which will be analysed.»
The ceremony involved thousands of workers nationwide, including 1,400 performers, most of them volunteers.
Performers unpaid, criticism dismissed
Artists who appeared at the ceremony, including U.S. pop star Mariah Carey, performed without payment. Ceremonies director Maria Laura Iascone said the aim was to showcase Italy to a global audience and described Carey’s participation as an honour.
Varnier also rejected criticism that Italian rapper Ghali did not receive enough exposure, saying the television direction focused on the overall production rather than individual performers.
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