The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6 will provide what it calls “a shared experience” for all athletes to take part, even those who cannot make it to the San Siro Stadium in Milan because they are in other competition clusters.
The ceremony’s title will be Armonia, or harmony, organizers announced Thursday.
“A journey through art and innovation, nature and city, tradition and future,” according to a press release. “A tribute to Italy and its values, combining the evocative power of our history and culture with the Olympic spirit. Armonia will serve as the common thread of a story that weaves together imagination and beauty, Leonardo da Vinci and the great inventors, Italian design and taste, music and elegance. It will be a collective narrative celebrating Italian talent in all its forms, from artists to athletes, to the young generations shaping tomorrow.”
Italian actress Matilda De Angelis will be one of the narrative voices for the show. In Thursday’s press conference, a special tribute to the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani was also announced.
As officials previously said, all of the athletes will have the opportunity to be involved in the ceremony, even those who will not be in Milan.
At past Opening Ceremonies, some athletes were not on site because their competition venues were not near the ceremony venue and/or they were preparing for competition on the opening weekend of the Games.
Milan Cortina organizers are making it easier for those athletes by incorporating other competition clusters into the ceremony. There will be athlete parades in Milan, Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina.
Nations will be allowed to have two flagbearers — as in recent Games — but can choose to put either one in any of the four parades.
The two cauldrons in Milan and Cortina will be lit simultaneously, officials have said. There were previously two cauldrons at the 2010 Vancouver Games (both in Vancouver), the 2016 Rio Games (both in Rio) and the 2020 Tokyo Games (both in Tokyo).
Competition in a Winter Olympic record 116 medal events among 16 sports will be spread across Northern Italy.
Milan hosts figure skating, hockey, short track and long-track speed skating.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, the 1956 Olympic host, will have women’s Alpine skiing, biathlon, curling, bobsled, luge and skeleton.
Valtellina boasts men’s Alpine skiing in Bormio, plus freestyle skiing, snowboarding and the new Olympic event of ski mountaineering.
Val di Fiemme will have cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined.
The Closing Ceremony on Feb. 22 will be at the Verona Arena, the third-largest Roman amphitheater still in existence.
A first glimpse of San Siro transformed for the Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony.
— Milano Cortina 2026 (@milanocortina26) October 16, 2025
Light, movement, creativity — all united by one guiding idea: ARMONIA. 🇮🇹 #MilanoCortina2026 #Olympics #RoadToCeremonies #OpeningCeremony @Olympics @BalichWS pic.twitter.com/fhTrPSQeCj
