Overview
- Organizers executed the first decentralized Olympic opener under the 'Armonia' theme, with athlete parades woven across Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo.
- Two cauldrons were lit simultaneously for the first time, one at Milan’s Arco della Pace and one in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona.
- Mariah Carey performed Volare in Italian and Andrea Bocelli sang Nessun Dorma, alongside tributes to Giorgio Armani and Italy’s opera and fashion heritage.
- Security was heavy with dozens of leaders attending, and crowd reactions included boos for U.S. Vice President JD Vance and some jeers for Israel, while Ukraine drew loud cheers.
- Roughly 2,900 athletes from about 92 nations are competing across widely dispersed venues, with preliminary events underway and multiple outlets reporting Team USA’s largest Winter delegation, often cited as 232 athletes, though some tallies differ.