Milo, mascot of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, is pictured at the Piazza Duomo prior to the Olympic Torch Relay in Milan, Italy, on February 5, 2026, on the eve of the opening of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Piero Cruciatti / AFP)
Milan, Italy: The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics officially start with a star-studded opening ceremony at the San Siro Stadium on Friday, while US ski great Lindsey Vonn tests her injured knee in a crucial practice run.
The most geographically dispersed Games in history will get underway in Italy's economic capital at 1900 GMT with a three-hour extravaganza that takes in the three other sites spread across the Alps and the Dolomites.
For the first time the 2,900 athletes will parade in the venues closest to where they will compete, in a bid to minimise travel.
The ceremony is expected to draw a global audience of hundreds of millions and offers "a unique platform to convey positive messages, not divisive ones," creative director Marco Balich promised.
Balich intends to pay tribute to Italian design and fashion, with a special nod to the designer Giorgio Armani, who died last year.
American singer Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Chinese pianist Lang Lang are to perform.
Dozens of dignitaries will attend, including US Vice President JD Vance and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Vance will hold talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni before the ceremony.
Vance met International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry, who is overseeing her first Games since her election last year, at a dinner for heads of state on Thursday.
The United States hosts the next Olympics, the 2028 Summer Games, in Los Angeles.
