MILAN — There are 113 days left until the 2026 Winter Olympics kick off on Feb. 6 in Italy and anticipation is mounting in the lead up to the event.
The Games’ organizer, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, revealed during a press conference held at the San Siro Stadium here on Thursday that the opening ceremony will feature a tribute to the late designer and entrepreneur Giorgio Armani.
Giovanni Malagò, president of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, characterized the choice as “overdue, for the city of Milan and the entire country, which want to celebrate his stature.”
You May Also Like
Incidentally, the Giorgio Armani company is also the official technical outfitter of Italy’s winter sports athletes as part of a four-season partnership between the Emporio Armani EA7 line and FISI, the Italian Winter Sports Federation.
Although further details on the tribute were kept under wraps, organizers said the ceremony will be characterized by an unprecedented, widespread format, with activations planned in key locations scattered across Northern Italy.
Although Milan will surely take the lion’s share of attention with the global streaming of the event from the San Siro Stadium, the 75,000-audience venue in the city, all other locations will be featured in the opening ceremony.
In addition to Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo — a luxury winter resort in the Veneto region not distant from Venice — events will also be held at the ski resort locations of Predazzo, Bormio and Livigno.
In particular, the flag-raising ceremony and lighting of the Olympic cauldron on Feb. 6 will happen simultaneously in Milan at Arco della Pace and in Cortina d’Ampezzo on the central Dibona Square, while the athletes’ parade will be multipronged, happening in all locations with different groups of athletes.
“Opening ceremonies hold great importance for their symbolic value — they are moments everyone remembers, the ones that define each edition of the Games and capture its spirit. The ceremony is entirely separate from the sporting event itself, yet it is by far the most-watched moment, representing a major opportunity of visibility,” said Andrea Varnier, chief executive officer of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.
“The opening ceremony has the potential to reach at least 2 billion people, it’s an extremely powerful international communication tool for the country,” Malagò echoed.
Titled “Armonia,” or “Harmony” in English, and inspired by the word’s original Greek meaning of “putting together,” the opening ceremony presented a “wonderful challenge to create an event that speaks to the world, telling the story of a new, beautiful and positive Italy,” said Marco Balich, creative lead of the opening ceremony, who selected an all-Italian team of creatives to conceive the event.
“The ceremony has to feel welcoming and celebrate the athletes, who are at the very heart of our narrative. The true celebrities are the athletes — and it’s important that we remember that,” Balich said.
A full lineup of performers for the event has yet to be unveiled although organizers said Thursday that Italian actress Matilda De Angelis is to take part.
The ceremony’s setup at San Siro Stadium, unveiled at the press conference, features a central round stage equipped with led-screen animations, which is linked to the four corners of the playing field via ramps. Athletes will sit on the fields in a dedicated space flanking the protocol stage.
The Winter Olympics will run Feb. 6 to 22, while the Paralympics will run March 6 to 15. The closing ceremony for the Olympics and opening ceremony for the Paralympics will both be held at the Arena di Verona.
As reported, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 already unveiled the deigns for the torch and medals of the upcoming Winter Games. On Thursday, the foundation said that it has so far accrued a little less than 500 million euros via sponsors and partners.
