Milan Cortina, Mattarella officially opens the Olympic Games

There are those who dance, those who wave, those who take photos and videos that are worth an eternal memory. The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Milan Cortina is also all in the emotions of the athletes, 'the heroes' as they are called in San Siro at the end of the parade. A peculiar parade, divided between four Olympic venues (the largest part of the athletes at the Meazza, the others between Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo), but which had the merit of putting the protagonists back in the centre, after the less fortunate one of Paris 2024. Even if with a few peculiar situations, such as the many nations (starting with Greece, the first to be called up) that did not see any athletes or flags parading at the San Siro, as no one was in Milan. However, each country chose two flag bearers, a woman and a man, divided among the various venues. It took just over an hour to see them all pass. The 67,000 people present at the Meazza applauded, booed (in the case of Israel and especially the USA) and rejoiced with all the star athletes.
Of course the biggest ovation came last, when it was Italia's turn: greeted by the aria Largo al factotum, taken from Gioachino Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Azzurri amid smiles, 'high fives' to the volunteers, selfies and videos paraded behind Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino, while from the authorities' tribune they were greeted by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala waved a tricolour scarf moving to the rhythm of music next to Coni President Luciano Buonfiglio.

La delegazione italiana

Olimpiadi Milano Cortina 2026 - Cerimonia di apertura - Stadio San Siro, Milano, Italia - 6 febbraio 2026. I portabandiera Arianna Fontina e Federico Pellegrino durante la sfilata degli atleti durante la cerimonia di apertura REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Applause for the US delegation as they entered the San Siro stadium for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. A different reaction however when US President JD Vance appeared on the big screen, standing to applaud the athletes. At that moment in fact several whistles went up.

Ukraine parades at the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics and an ovation rises from the San Siro crowd.

A few whistles went off from the stands of the San Siro at the announcement of the parade of Israel's athletes to the 2026 Milan Olympics during the Milan Opening Ceremony. However, the booing lasted only a few seconds, clearly aimed at the nation and not the athletes.

La delegazione di Israele a Milano Cortina 2026 (REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo)

People are gathering at the Arco della Pace in Milan where the Olympic brazier will be lit - at the same time as Cortina - to officially kick off the Winter Olympics. In front of the Arco della Pace there are mostly tourists and there are international journalists with cameras from newspapers arriving from all over the world. The square is slowly filling up as they await the arrival of the last torch-bearers who will light the brazier.

L’arco della Pace a Milano

Harmony is the idea that guides the entire opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics curated by creative director Marco Balich. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, it will be hosted by two cities, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, with a narrative thread linking city and mountain. 'Harmony is also a universal message,' explain the organisers, 'an invitation to peace, dialogue and the ability to build connections in a fragmented world. The San Siro stadium is the scenic heart of Armonia, the point from which the narrative of the widespread ceremony radiates. At the centre of the stage stands the circle, a tribute to Milan, which began as a city with a circular layout, founded in Roman times as Mediolanum and developed over time through successive circles of walls and urban rings. Around the central circle then open four ramps drawing trajectories that ideally connect Milan to Livigno, Predazzo, and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Olympic venues.

Anticipation is growing at the San Siro for the Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina Games. The stadium, in its swan song before being demolished, is registering a sell-out: 67 thousand tickets have been sold for the show, the best result ever for a Winter Olympics. The Italian athletes have also arrived at San Siro from the Olympic Village, seventy in all who will parade tonight in Milan, while the others will do so in Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo.

It ended without any tense moments, in Milan, the procession protesting the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Olympics, which will officially start tonight at the San Siro stadium in a maximum security setting. The demonstrators, represented by various souls of antagonism and social activism, started from via Mar Jonio and ended the procession in piazzale Selinunte shouting slogans against the Olympics, the 'palazzinari of Milan' and the government. The demonstration was part of the three-day protest of the 'Insostenibili Olimpiadi Committee' based in the abandoned tensile structure of the former Palasharp next to Monte Stella, occupied this morning by the antagonists for the Utopiadi event, a sort of 'popular counter-Olympics'.

Great possibilities that derive from the Olympic spirit, to work together for dialogue and Peace: this is the meaning of a short video message that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, sent for the inauguration of Milan Cortina 2026 and that was projected on the big screen in the San Siro stadium.

The Italian team arrived at the San Siro for the Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

San Siro is warming up for the opening ceremony of the Milan 2026 Olympic Games. As the stands of the stadium begin to fill with spectators, the pre-show hosted by Marco Maccarini and Brenda Lodigiani has begun. About 80,000 people are expected at the Meazz, but at the moment many seats are still empty. On stage are music, and entertainment, with a DJ set by the Italia duo of Merk and Kremont.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has just arrived - ANSA learns - at the San Siro Stadium where he will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. Parolin was not among the personalities announced on the eve of the event.

Surprise arrival of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Games. The head of state at the San Siro is the protagonist of a video showing him on board a historic tram, driven by an exceptional driver: Valentino Rossi.

The procession protesting the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics, which will see the official start in less than an hour with a demonstration at the San Siro stadium, has begun in Milan. The demonstrators, represented by various souls of antagonism and social activism, found themselves a stone's throw from the 'armoured' area of the Meazza Stadium, in the popular and multi-ethnic part of the district for an 'anti-Olympic torchlight procession' as part of a three-day 'Utopiadi'. According to what has been agreed with the Questura, those present, a few hundred people who responded to the appeal of the Insostenibili Olimpiadi Committee, will move from via Mar Jonio and will then proceed along via Gigante, via Ricciarelli, via Civitali, via Preneste, via Tracia, via Zamagna and piazzale Selinunte. 'In a city that prioritises luxury and profit, that pushes those who live there to the margins, creating room only for their standards of wealth,' reads a leaflet from the 'Cantiere' social centre. 'The Olympics have highlighted a social gap that has existed for years, on the other hand, like all big events they open up space for the various building speculators to continue to profit on the city.

The watchwords are 'safety' and 'security'. This is the slogan that circulates among the officials of the Milan Prefecture when on Friday morning, after a running-in period of weeks, the security machine for Milan Cortina 2026 is set in motion. While the vice-president of the United States, J.D. Vance, indulges in a visit to the Pinacoteca di Brera after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting, flanked by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, with the president of the council, Giorgia Meloni, and the foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, 3,000 cameras are turned on Milan, pointing at the San Siro, the Pala Italia, Assago and the forum, Rho. They follow the path of the Olympic flame that from Via Pirelli to Bicocca crosses the city to the Meazza and the Arco della Pace for the lighting of the five-ringed brazier. Each frame is transmitted passes under the lens of the 'big eye' where 50 agents and personnel, both civil and military, of an inter-force device work simultaneously.

Here is the nerve centre of security for the 2026 Winter Games: the SOI (Sala Operative Interforze), set up by decree by the Prefect of Milan, Claudio Sgaraglia, is open to the press for a few hours: video surveillance images of the metropolitan area bounce on the dozens of screens and ledwalls installed in the hall in Via Drago, between Certosa and Quarto Oggiaro in the civil protection headquarters, which looks like a series of concentric semi-circles, just like the progressive security levels.

Dozens of guests from all over the world, including heads of state and government, arrived at the Palazzo Reale in Milan for the reception with the heads of state and government of the countries participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, where they were offered a welcome cocktail before tonight's opening ceremony. Welcoming the participants were President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella, accompanied by his daughter Laura, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Among those present were US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had already been in town since yesterday, as well as German President Frank Walter Steinmeier and Princess Anne of England, sister of King Charles III. Also among the guests were UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Prince Albert of Monaco, Polish President Karol Nawrocki and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani.

'An unmissable event'. This is how Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov defined the Milan-Cortina Games, assuring that he will attend the opening and closing ceremonies and then the competitions in which Russian athletes (under neutral flags, ed.) will participate. Quoted by Tass, he said: 'I will definitely watch the competitions in which our boys will perform. I will watch the opening and closing. It is absolutely worth watching'.

The wait is over. In Bormio, the first medals of the Cortina Olympics are awarded with the fastest race, the men's downhill, the snow equivalent of a hundred metres. On the Stelvio, the speed was close to 150 km/h between bends, bumps and jumps. All against Marco Odermatt, the compulsory favourite: the Swiss, leader in the speciality ranking and close to his fifth consecutive Crystal Cup, is determined to add to his impressive palmares one of the few missing achievements. "We can win many," is his democratic opinion. His team-mate Franjo von Allmen, fresh from his triumph in Crans-Montana, certainly does not want to make life easy for him, as does Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, who won the World Cup in 2021 but never medalled at the Olympics. The Italian team promises battle and is aiming for the podium: Dominik Paris appears calm, well aware that the Stelvio is his favourite slope, and he is the only one of the team to have participated in the third race, testing only the top section, before rising to finish more than 8'' behind Crawford. "I feel a good feeling with the track and have a good race plan. I think some corners are a bit more challenging and some things are a bit smoother. So the track is getting better and better. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. It will be a good race. Giovanni Franzoni is Italia's other standard bearer: in overflowing condition, the most consistent in the last time trials, in one month he has brought home successes in Wengen and Kitzbühel in the World Cup. An Olympic medal in Bormio would catapult him into another dimension. But also watch out for Mattia Casse and Florian Schieder, two lightning bolts on Thursday: both stayed at rest in the third test so as not to tire too much, a sign that confidence is high and the mood is positive. Italia has not won gold in the men's downhill since 1952, in Oslo, with Zeno Colò.

'The Games for now we have not finished paying for them, let's see the accounts, but we are very careful'. So said Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, on the sidelines of a visit to Casa Italia at the Triennale, regarding the costs of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

A new wave of cyber attacks on websites related to the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina occurred just hours before tonight's opening ceremony. The website of the Austrian Olympic Committee (Öoc) was offline for about an hour this morning, a spokesman told the Austrian news agency. He said he detected the incident quickly and took action. Two websites of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (Dosb) were also offline for a while. Dosb did not specify the causes of the situation. A few days ago, Italian authorities reported cyber attacks suspected of being linked to Russia. They affected the websites of the Winter Games and those of the hotels in Cortina, as well as those of the institutions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Paris 2024 Summer Games were also targeted. Russia did not have an official team in Paris and does not have one at the Winter Games in Milan-Cortina either, but can only send neutral athletes after a rigorous selection process, and cannot participate in the parade of nations during the opening ceremony.

Although officially excluded from the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Russia will still have a strong presence on the ice and on the slopes. Between athletes admitted under a neutral flag and Russian-born athletes now competing for other countries, Moscow's sporting and political weight remains visible, despite the national team ban that was triggered after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. As was the case in Paris 2024, Russian athletes can only participate as Individual Neutral Athletes (Ain), without flag, anthem or national symbols, and only after a rigorous vetting process by the International Olympic Committee, which excludes those with links to the military or who have publicly supported the war. The IOC has so far authorised the presence of 13 Russian athletes with neutral status, a much lower figure than at the Beijing 2022 Games, when more than 200 Russians competed under the Russian Olympic Committee banner due to state doping sanctions. The 13 Ain are spread across eight disciplines, from alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating and short track to luge, speed skating and ski mountaineering. Team competitions such as hockey and curling, on the other hand, remain precluded. Alongside them, however, there will be a much larger group of Russian-born athletes who will compete for other countries, thanks to sudden changes of citizenship after 2022 or emigration routes that began earlier. The BBC estimates that there will be around 40 athletes, with passports mainly from Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, but also several Western European nations. Figure skating - a discipline historically dominated by the Washington-Moscow duopoly - is likely to have an almost entirely Russian medal race, albeit with the flags of Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Israel and Poland.

The start of the Olympic ice hockey competitions officially inaugurates the Milan Arena, Italy's largest, most modern and sustainable indoor event facility for live entertainment and major sporting events, and one of the largest in Europe, capable of accommodating 16 thousand spectators in an area of 77 thousand square metres. Built and made operational on schedule for the Olympic Games, just over two years of non-stop work, by the Eteria Consortium for Cts Eventim, a European leader in ticketing and live entertainment, the Arena has taken shape in Milan's Santa Giulia district. The project, designed by the studio of British architect David Alan Chipperfield together with the engineering company Arup, was realised by Consorzio Eteria through its partners Vianini Lavori and Itinera, with the contribution of Sinelec for the plant engineering. "We are proud to have contributed to the realisation, on schedule for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, of such a complex and prestigious project. I would like to thank all the men and women of Eteria and the partners involved for the extraordinary result achieved thanks to their great professionalism, determination and full dedication,' commented Eteria CEO Vincenzo Onorato.

The Arena, says a note, is a reality thanks to extraordinary teamwork, carried out with continuity and determination seven days a week, which involved different skills and professionalism at every level, totalling more than 1,200 people per day and dozens of suppliers. The watchword for the Consortium was to make the processes efficient in order to achieve the goal in the required time, so that the Arena would be operational for the Olympics. Among the numbers of the work are 29 catering outlets, capable of serving up to 6 thousand people in 20 minutes, and a large central outdoor elevated plaza of over 10 thousand square metres, designed to host large outdoor events and urban gatherings. The area also includes a vertical car park on eight levels for a total of 84 thousand square metres.

'Today the Winter Olympics begin in Italia. We are rooting for our national team and wish our Italian partners every success in organising the Games. For Ukrainian athletes, these competitions have a special significance. They prepared under the harsh conditions of Russia's large-scale war, energy attacks and damaged infrastructure. In the course of this war, over 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches were killed by Russia and over 800 sports facilities were destroyed, including 20 Olympic, Paralympic and deaf training centres'. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote this on X. "The war had a heavy impact on the Ukrainian sports community, but it did not break the spirit of Ukrainian athletes," he added, appealing to maintain "all restrictions" on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Among the stars who have arrived in Milan for the Winter Olympics are the famous actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, who landed today, as revealed by Vogue USA, publishing photos of the couple. Clooney, who has a villa on Lake Como, is often in Italia.

There will be 146 Italia Team athletes parading in the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. Divided as follows: in San Siro, led by flag bearers Arianna Fontana and Federico Pellegrino and with Coni General Secretary and Head of Mission Carlo Mornati, 70 athletes from five disciplines (short track, figure skating, speed skating, hockey and cross-country skiing) will parade; in Cortina, led by the standard bearers Federica Brignone and Amos Mosaner, there will be 35 athletes from four disciplines (curling, alpine skiing, skeleton and luge); in Predazzo there will be 13 athletes from three disciplines (ski jumping, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined), while in Livigno there will be 28 from four disciplines (ski mountaineering, alpine skiing, freestyle and snowboarding).

Princess Anne of England arrived at the Royal Palace in Milan for a reception with the heads of state and government of the countries participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, on the day of the opening ceremony. King Charles' sister was welcomed by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, with his daughter Laura, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Dominik Fischnaller honed the final technical details in the fifth and sixth training runs that closed the men's singles event, the first two heats of which are scheduled for Saturday 7 February at 17.00 and 18.32, while the third and fourth decisive heats are scheduled for Sunday 8 February at 17.00 and 18.34. The South Tyrolean Carabiniere, bronze medallist at Beijing 2022, is ready to hit the track to storm the podium again together with Leon Felderer and Alex Gruber. "It was a positive training session," Fischnaller explains, "on our side we had the advantage over the other teams that we had shot a week ago, in the end the others also adapted, and Germany and Austria proved to be very competitive. In the last laps the ice was not so fast, last week the times were lower and the weather was cooler. There is a lot of moisture on the track and we hope that on race days the temperatures will drop, which will help our material. We are confident that all the heats will take place in the late afternoon. We are very motivated, physically I am fine, I don't have any more problems".

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, arrived at the Palazzo Reale, Milan, for the reception with the Heads of State and Government on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also arrived.

Gaffe on the part of the staff of US Vice-President JD Vance, who initially provided the pool of reporters following him for the Milan Cortina Games with a list of participants in the private lunch with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, also indicating the presence of her spouse ("spouse"). The pool then reported that 'the vice-president's office provided a correct list of participants at the private lunch. Council President Meloni was not accompanied by her spouse, nor was (Fabrizio, ed.) Saggio. Two other names were added for the Italian side'. The participants then, the pool informed, were the Vice-President with his wife, Secretary of State Marco Rubio with his spouse, and US Ambassador to Italia Tilman J. Fertitta with his wife. On the Italian side were Italian Prime Minister Meloni, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani with his wife Brunella, Palazzo Chigi's diplomatic advisor Fabrizio Saggio, the head of the Prime Minister's private secretariat Patrizia Scurti, and Tajani's chief of staff Francesco Genuardi. A note from the pool also contained a typo: 'Melon' instead of Meloni. (ANSA).

Brera Academy closed for the unexpected visit of US Vice President J.D. Vance. The presidential delegation reached the art gallery after a meeting with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the prefecture in Milan. The area was cordoned off for almost an hour, with the art gallery closed, while people were made to leave by the police. The art gallery reopened a short while ago.

Just a few hours before the start of Milan Cortina 2026, the wait is on for the opening ceremony. The inaugural show, 'spread' (like this particular edition of the Olympics) over several territories. From Milan to Cortina, passing through Livigno and Predazzo. While waiting for the start of the event, fans have one big doubt. Who will be the last torch-bearers? Who will have the honour of lighting the two Olympic braziers in Milan and Cortina? The toto-torchbearer would seem to already have its answer. In pole position are two Italian skiing legends, Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba. With a twist. Both would 'run' for the Milanese brazier placed at the Arco della Pace, with the picturesque Castello Sforzesco providing the backdrop for the iconic moment. Indicative of the possibility is their simultaneous presence today at the Triennale in Milan, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Casa Italia. According to Adnkronos, Tomba and Compagnoni (three Olympic gold medals each) could light the brazier together at the Arco della Pace in Milan and give the history of the Games a memorable moment. One for the annals.

As far as Cortina is concerned, an important clue comes from the words of the legend Gustavo Thoeni, giant slalom gold medallist in Sapporo 1972, who a few hours ago specified his role as penultimate torchbearer in Cortina. To whom will he pass the baton? To Sofia Goggia, downhill gold in Pyeongchang 2018 and silver in Beijing 2022. An epic role for the Italian, who will then return to the track in the hunt for a medal. Just before the inauguration of Casa Italia with Head of State Sergio Mattarella, Adnkronos questioned Coni president Luciano Buonfiglio, who was 'pinched' chatting with Tomba, on the subject. 'Will he light the Olympic brazier in Milan? Even if I know, I won't tell you. It will be a surprise'. The president, dribbling the question with a smile, then focused on the approach to the first medal competitions of the Winter Olympics: 'We are ready and what I have asked and what I ask of the athletes is to do what they know how to do, which in these circumstances playing at home and with so much pressure becomes difficult. It is a bit like the night before exams, but we have studied. We are tense but we have studied.

The French government denies that President Emmanuel Macron will not attend the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in order to avoid sitting next to US Vice-President Jd Vance, branding the news as 'fake news', and reiterates that his absence is due to 'long-standing commitments'. "I read many things these days in the press, 'fake news', about the participation of the President of the French Republic. We could read that 'he did not want to sit in such and such a place...', but this is absolutely not the case. In fact, the French president, as you know, is due to receive the King of Bahrain in Paris, it is therefore a long-standing commitment,' said the French Minister of Sport, Marina Ferrari, at a press conference of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee in Milan. "Of course" President Macron "asked me, and I am very honoured to do so, to represent the French government on this occasion," she added.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki arrived a few moments ago at the Milan Prefecture where he will meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. This will be the Prime Minister's last bilateral meeting before the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

"What do I expect after the opening ceremony? First of all it will be a sigh of relief for my partner and my children who will see me a little later. Then I would like everyone to feel proud to be Italian, to feel recognised and represented and to be part of this great message of peace that we want to give to the world in 2026'. These were the words of Marco Balich, creative director of the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to Tg Poste. 'Being a creative director,' he said, 'is the most beautiful thing there is. There are sleepless nights, blue fatigue, adrenalin, responsibility, but it is a wonderful job. You feel that the whole planet is watching you, watching Italia. A ceremony where the human factor predominates over special effects? We thought there might be a hint of generous humanity in this 2026. We tell about humanity and therefore the great emotions that man can produce are at the centre of this ceremony'.

Further reading

The night of a hundred flags that will unite the world

26 January 2026

US Vice-President J.D. Vance left the Milan prefecture where he met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The meeting, which also included lunch, lasted two and a half hours. Vance was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ambassador to Italia Ferritta. With Meloni was Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. After the US vice-president, Polish president Karol Nawrochi is expected at Palazzo Dioli. Then the premier is expected at the reception of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at Palazzo Reale and at the San Siro stadium for the opening ceremony of the Milan Olympics.

The first day of figure skating comes to an end: after the first three of the four qualifying rounds, Italia is third on 22 points, behind the super-favoured United States (25 points) and only one point below the Japanese team, which has risen to 23 points after the women's short. Skater Kaori Sakamoto on the notes of 'Con te partirò' - a tribute to host Italia and tenor Andrea Bocelli, who will perform at the Games opening ceremony this evening - recorded her season record of 78.88 points, edging out the USA's Alysa Liu (74.9). In third place, with 71.62 points, is Italian athlete Lara Naki Gutmann. The 23-year-old from Trento, urged on by the cheers of her teammates, enchanted the forum to the notes of the soundtrack of the TV series dedicated to Italy's first female lawyer, Lidia Poët, and also set her season record. Below Italia in the partial ranking are Georgia at 20 points, Canada at 19, France at 17, South Korea and Great Britain tied at 11, China at 10 and Poland at 6. Qualifying resumes tomorrow with the fourth and final segment: the men's short.

Former swimmer Federica Pellegrini and dancer Roberto Bolle also carried the Olympic flame through the streets of central Milan. Bolle received the torch near La Scala and walked down Via Manzoni. After him, the flame was passed to Federica Pellegrini, torchbearer with her 'baby bump' while expecting. In the Gioia-Gae Aulenti area, former Chinese basketball player Yao Ming also carried the torch for a stretch.

"I feel good, physically I'm in good shape. In Crans Montana I had a good Super-G and it gave me a good boost of confidence". This was said by the Italian skier Sofia Goggia, after the downhill race that saw her finish with the eighth time, in a situation in which all went down with the handbrake pulled given the difficult snow conditions, following the snowfall and high temperatures of the past few days. "Trials don't count," emphasised Goggia, who on her chances after Lindsey Vonn's injury did not open up: "I don't make bets, we can't bet. Now eyes on tomorrow's test, with precipitation expected in the evening: "The important thing is that it will be cold tonight. "Today's conditions are not selective because it's snow you almost have to float on. In my opinion it was not smart to push today," she explains. Tomorrow's test will, according to the Italian, be "a must". For Goggia, "the organisers have already done a miracle to clean it well from all that snow that has fallen over the past few days, so a huge thank you to them". However, 'I knew well from the reconnaissance that today was going to be a fast lap'.

At least 5,000 people took to the streets of Milan for the demonstration against Ice at the Olympics launched by the Unione degli Studenti, Link Universitari and Rete della Conoscenza. 'Ice Out', reads a Uds note, is the slogan chosen by the students and young people of Milan for this demonstration. Thousands of people marched through the city streets denouncing the presence of Immigration and Custom Enforcement in Milan on the first day of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Other issues were also brought to the square: the closure of schools and university centres in Milan and Valtellina was condemned, but also the exploitation of the territories of Milan and the province of Sondrio. 'We find it incomprehensible and unjustifiable how the presence of a foreign police force guilty of racism and murder in another sovereign country can be considered right,' declared Pietro Wilhelm Malmsheimer, communications manager of the UdS Lombardia, echoed by Cecilia Marzolla, coordinator of the Rete della Conoscenza Milano: 'We say enough is enough. We cannot accept that the United States, after decades, continues to be able to indiscriminately violate the independence of other peoples and that governments are condescending to this policy'. The demonstrations will continue in the coming days.

I manifestanti sfilano con cartelli durante una manifestazione contro l'ICE organizzata dagli studenti alle Olimpiadi invernali del 2026, a Milano, Italia, venerdì 6 febbraio 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Associate Press/ LaPresse Solo Italia e Spagna

North Korea has kicked off its Winter Games after the country failed to qualify for the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina. The 2026 Games will be held in the Paektusan area sports village in Samjiyon, a mountainous city near the Chinese border, according to the official Kcna news agency. Sports clubs will compete in over 50 competitions in five winter disciplines, including ice hockey, figure skating and skiing. It last participated in the Winter Olympics in 2018 in the South Korean city of PyeongChang, when it sent 22 athletes from five sports disciplines and used the Games as a stage for a rare diplomatic thaw with the South, which included a joint women's ice hockey team. Pyongyang severely restricted sports participation abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic and was suspended by the International Olympic Committee until the end of 2022 after deciding not to send a team to the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

A relaxed atmosphere with jokes and smiles during the meeting in the prefecture in Milan between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and US Vice President JD Vance, also attended by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Meloni and Vance were seated on two white chairs with armrests, while the delegations were seated sideways on sofas. The first to speak was Meloni, in Italian. She then switched to English, joking that Vance probably did not know what she was saying. At that point the US vice-president joked in turn, saying that he had learned Italian since his last meeting with Meloni. The Prime Minister then summarised in English what she had previously said in Italian. While she was speaking, the US ambassador to Italia, Tilman Fertitta, arrived, greeted Vance by shaking his hand and went to sit on the small sofa next to Rubio. "It's hard to move," Fertitta joked, greeted by Vance's laughter.

Just a few hours to go before the opening ceremony of Milan-Cortina 2026: in addition to the traditional cameras, there will be a slew of Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra cameras at the San Siro. They will be installed in dynamic spots - including jibs, i.e. mobile camera arms positioned above the field and the athletes' entrance tunnels - to capture immersive perspectives in real time and wirelessly. The company is working with the IOC and Olympic Broadcasting Services (Obs) to ensure that footage captured on smartphones is integrated into the live broadcast.

At the San Siro Stadium on Friday night, 75,000 spectators and more than 3,500 athletes from over 90 countries are expected to attend

The campaign of hacker attacks is being extended, in particular by the pro-Russian collective NoName057(16) which, in the last few hours, has allegedly added the Italian and Milan Cortina hospitality portals, including the official ticketing site, as well as some of the sponsors of the games. Also under attack were the European Olympic committees and federations of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovakia and two German public broadcasters.

"It was predictable that, after the first announcement, the collective would take the opportunity to immediately relaunch new messages and new targets, exploiting the media attention generated. This is a typical dynamic of hacktivist groups: riding every spike in notoriety to amplify their propaganda. In light of this behaviour, we do not rule out that the list of targets may expand further in the coming hours," said Mirko Gatto, Head of Cybersecurity at Var Group.

Sleeping in a 3-star hotel or in an airbnb in the Olympic Games locations costs a lot compared to a normal weekend in January 2026. But there is news: compared to the Altroconsumo survey in December 2025, accommodation prices have plummeted. Evidently, hoteliers and homeowners expected higher demand and were eventually forced to lower prices. With the collapse in accommodation prices, now for a weekend for two people departing from a major Italian city, staying two nights and buying two tickets, the average cost has fallen from EUR 1,874 (December 2025 survey) to EUR 1,103 (end of January 2026 survey). Altroconsumo found that in January 2026, for the third time (the others in August and December 2025), the prices of accommodation for an Olympic weekend on different dates in February 2026 in the locations of the competitions, and we compared this with the prices found in December 2025 for a weekend in the previous month (16-18 January 2026). For hotels, we chose three-star hotels, and for Airbnb the top five offers with characteristics suitable for our research. Compared to previous surveys, prices fell and we always found room: the crazy prices we found in August and December may have discouraged many people from booking. A word of advice: if you have already booked and can cancel your reservation at no cost, you might want to redo your search because you might find lower prices and save money. In Cortina, you spend an average of just over EUR 500 to sleep during an Olympic weekend (in the last survey it was EUR 2,078) and if, as we did, you compare it to a normal weekend in January, you pay 6% less, before it was 261% more. In Valtellina, the average price is 720 euro compared to the almost 1,700 euro we recorded with the December survey. In the period of the Games, you pay 133% more than in January 2026. For Val di Fiemme and Milan, we are at 453 euro for the former and just over 300 euro for the Lombard capital. In each case, compared to a weekend in the previous month, one pays 63% and 76% more respectively.

"I am here for the opening ceremony of the Olympics but it is also an opportunity to discuss our bilateral relations. Italia and the United States have always had very significant relations, we are working on many bilateral issues obviously to strengthen our cooperation but also on the other international dossiers that are open". Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said this today as she welcomed the US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to the prefecture in Milan. "We met with the vice-president last time in Rome on the occasion of the inauguration of Pope Leo's papacy and today we meet again for the inaugural ceremony of the Olympics," the Prime Minister added. "These are two events that tell a system of values that hold Europe and the United States together, that hold the West together, that is the basis of our cooperation, our friendship and the future we want to build together," she said.

'Basta, basta, free all maranza'. These are the opening words of Ghali's new single, 'Basta', which was surprisingly released on digital platforms by the Tunisian-born Italian rapper last night. A track that the artist had already previewed for fans at some concerts in recent months and whose release does not seem accidental: tonight will be the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, an event that has placed Ghali at the centre of a heated political debate. Only a few hours before releasing the new track, Ghali published a long letter on social media, written in Italian, English and Arabic, in which he denounces having been excluded from performing Mameli's anthem during the opening ceremony of the Games, after an initial invitation from the organisers. In the text, the artist recounts that he felt accepted only under certain conditions, and that his participation had been scaled down, including the renunciation of a poem on peace that could have included Arabic. 'I know that a thought of mine cannot be expressed. I also know that a silence of mine makes noise. I know that everything is a Grand Theatre,' he writes in the message, quoting Pier Paolo Pasolini's famous article 'Io so'. In the one-minute and 59-second track, however, Ghali bluntly addresses the themes of money 'too much money, my mum fainted in the bank', rebellion 'I've never liked rules', and resistance 'I'm alone but I look like an army'. Between punchy bars and arabesque sounds, the artist seems to want to claim his own identity. 'Basta' comes at a complex time for Ghali, characterised by the controversy surrounding his participation in the opening ceremony of the Olympics, scheduled for tonight from 8pm and enriched by the presence of big names on the international scene such as Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli, Cecilia Bartoli and Lang Lang. The decision to include the rapper in the cast of the show has provoked strong reactions in the political sphere, in particular from some representatives of the League, who consider Ghali to be too much in favour of the Palestinian cause.

It will be His, the investigative arm of the Ice men, who will be working in the operations room of the US consulate in Milan, on the occasion of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February. Throughout the event - to support diplomatic security details and not to conduct immigration control operations - men from His (Homeland security investigations) will be in the field for the US.

Ice will not have a public order function on the streets: Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi met with US Ambassador Tilman J. Fertitta and agreed that American agents will cooperate with the Italian authorities for the protection of US athletes and delegations.

'Milan disgusts you'. With this slogan the students' procession against the presence of Ice in Milan at the Milan-Cortina games opened: the procession, which started from Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, arrived as far as Parco Trotter. According to AdnKronos, there were about a thousand demonstrators. At the head of the banners, behind the insistent noise of whistles: a reminder of the mobilisation in Minneapolis, the 'Ice out' slogan that has crossed the US squares. In the procession choruses and slogans chanted at a rapid pace: 'If you don't change, we will block the city'. And again the banner: 'Ice, Vance, Rubio out of everywhere'. In the crosshairs not only the US federal immigration agency, but more generally Western policies: 'They deport migrants, they execute people: this is the reflection of the West', reads one of the banners. Alongside the protest against ICE, the square also raised the demand for 'Peace Games', with an explicit reference to the situation in Gaza.

After the lunch and the speech to the Azzurri athletes, San Siro awaits Head of State Sergio Mattarella in the grandstand. In the centre and in the front row. But there will not only be the President of the Republic to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina this evening in the red ring box of the stadium, transformed into a privileged stage for the spectacle.

With a cast of more than 1,300 people, including professionals and volunteers, from 27 countries, flanked by more than 950 staff and workforce, the Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for tonight at the San Siro Stadium, promises to be one of the most impressive and spectacular events in the history of the Games. A 'monster show' of more than two hours, as creative director Marco Balich has defined it, with more than two billion viewers connected live from all over the world and 2900 athletes who will parade (part in Cortina and part also in Livigno). In the 'Presidential box' of the red ring of San Siro, in addition to the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella and the President of the IOC Kirsty Coventry, about fifty heads of state and government - including the US Vice-President and Secretary of State, JD Vance and Marc Rubio - and crowned heads. On stage some of the most recognised voices and faces of the Italian and international art scene such as Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, Pierfrancesco Favino, Sabrina Impacciatore, Matilde De Angelis, Ghali, Cecilia Bartoli, Lang Lang and many others. The musical component saw the involvement of more than 500 musicians for the composition of the original soundtracks, while the preparation of the event required more than 700 hours of rehearsals between Milan, Cortina, Livigno, Predazzo and Arco della Pace, where one of the two braziers was set up, another first in the history of the Games. The structures, the other of which is located in Piazza Dibona in Cortina, consist of 4.5 tonnes of metal, 1,440 connecting components and 1,000 metres of dynamic LEDs. Of great importance is the work dedicated to costumes, make-up and hairstyles: 182 original designs, more than 1,400 costumes made, 1,500 pairs of shoes and 7,500 metres of fabric, with the contribution of 110 make-up artists, 70 hair stylists and the use of more than 1,000 props.

"We are only a few hours away from the opening of the Games and emotion and expectation are growing, it is a source of great satisfaction to see Italia at the centre of such an important dimension of international life as sport". President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella said this while inaugurating Casa Italia at the Triennale in Milan. "For this reason, with the best wishes to all our athletes, athletes, to all those who follow them and have supported them in their preparation, goes the gratitude and the most heartfelt wish for good activity," he added, "With the underlying meaning of the Olympics and these of Milan Cortina even more so, with a welcome to all those who will come" "Casa Italia also has this meaning, of welcome. A welcome that expresses the Italian vocation for dialogue, concord, collaboration. Congratulations on Casa Italia and best wishes,' concluded the President of the Republic

No to 'doping' and 'all forms of corruption'. Pope Leo XIV writes this in 'Life in Abundance, on the Value of Sport', a letter published on the occasion of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan Cortina. "Artificially altering the performance or buying the result means breaking the dimension of cum-petere, transforming the common quest for excellence into an individual or partisan abuse.

True sport, on the other hand, educates to a serene relationship with the limit and the norm. The limit is a threshold to be inhabited: it is what makes effort meaningful, progress intelligible, merit recognisable. The norm is the shared 'grammar' that makes the game itself possible. Without rules, there is no competition or encounter, only chaos or violence. Accepting the limits of one's body, time, and effort, and respecting the shared rules means recognising that success comes from discipline, perseverance and loyalty'.

Papa Leone XIV, in una lettera diffusa oggi sul valore dello sport, torna a chiedere una Tregua olimpica per i giochi invernali di Milano Cortina nel giorno della loro inaugurazione. «L’istituzione della Tregua scaturisce dalla convinzione che la partecipazione a competizioni regolamentate (agones) costituisce un cammino individuale e collettivo verso la virtù e l’eccellenza (aretē). Quando lo sport è praticato in questo spirito e con queste condizioni, esso promuove la maturazione della coesione comunitaria e del bene comune. La guerra, al contrario, nasce da una radicalizzazione del disaccordo e dal rifiuto di cooperare gli uni con gli altri». Papa Leone aggiunge: «Le tragiche evidenze di questa cultura di morte sono sotto i nostri occhi – vite spezzate, sogni infranti, traumi dei sopravvissuti, città distrutte – come se la convivenza umana fosse superficialmente ridotta allo scenario di un videogioco. Ma questo non deve mai far dimenticare che l’aggressività, la violenza e la guerra sono sempre una sconfitta per l’umanità». Papa Prevost ricorda quindi che la Tregua olimpica è stata riproposta di recente dal Cio e dall’Onu. «In un mondo assetato di pace, abbiamo bisogno di strumenti che pongano fine alla prevaricazione, all’esibizione della forza e all’indifferenza per il diritto’. Incoraggio vivamente tutte le Nazioni, in occasione dei prossimi Giochi Olimpici e Paralimpici invernali, a riscoprire e a rispettare questo strumento di speranza che è la Tregua olimpica, simbolo e profezia di un mondo riconciliato».

Further reading

Milan Cortina 2026: must-see races and the full calendar

04 February 2026