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≡ MILAN CORTINA 2026 ≡
“Milano Cortina 2026 will be the first edition of the Olympic Winter Games with a polycentric model, meaning the Games will be spread across multiple cities. The Opening Ceremony will also reflect this vision: thanks to an innovative and inclusive project, all athletes will be able to participate in a shared experience in harmony between Milan, Cortina, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme.”
The 2026 Olympic Winter Games will be spread across northern Italy and Thursday’s announcement of the logistics of the Games opening on 6 February 2026 emphasized that unique aspect:
● In Milan, the historic San Siro stadium will include the traditional athlete parade in front of an expected 60,000 spectators.
● In Cortina, a parallel ceremony will be held, with athletes from biathlon, bobsled, curling, luge, skeleton and skiing.
● In Livigno in the Valtellina Cluster, skiing, snowboarding and ski mountaineering athletes can participate.
● In Val di Fiemme, athletes from the Nordic skiing events in cross country, Nordic Combined and ski jumping are located.
It was noted that each of the participating nations can have two flagbearers, who can appear at different sites. Host Italy will have four flagbearers.
The multiple focus points concept also extends to the Olympic Flame, for which cauldrons will be established:
● Andrea Varnier, the Milan Cortina 2026 organizing committee chief executive, noted:
“For the first time, the name of our Games includes two cities, which means we have to hold the most significant moments twice: the flag-raising ceremony and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron will take place in two locations, and we have to manage this visibility.”
● Maria Laura Iascone, Olympic and Paralympic Ceremonies Director, explained:
“We are revealing the two places that will become iconic, where we will ignite the two Olympic cauldrons and raise the excitement: in Milan, at the Arco della Pace, you will all see this wonder and, in the same way, in Cortina, you will be able to admire it in Piazza Dibona, in the centre of Cortina.”
The announcement characterized the idea of the Winter Games opening this way:
“For the organisers, the Opening Ceremony is their moment to stand tall, to let il Tricolore fly proudly on the world stage, and to offer a love letter to Italy and to sport in all its beauty.”
Veteran Italian producer Marco Balich, the creative lead for the ceremonies, underscored the importance of the theme of “harmony,” originally from the ancient Greek:
“It means ‘bringing together’ in musical terms, different elements. Because there are two cities, Milan and Cortina, city and mountain, the harmony between man and nature, between cultures, people and different ways of thinking … it is very meaningful.”
The Winter Games will open on 6 February and close on 22 February in an equally unique concept, at the Arena di Verona, a Roman amphitheater from the first century.
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