Two Olympic Flames Lit as First-Ever Multi-City Winter Games Begin

The Olympic flame was lit to mark the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics, signaling the start of a grand winter celebration.

The 25th Winter Olympics officially opened Friday at the San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, Italy.

The opening ceremony was held simultaneously at multiple locations, including San Siro Olympic Stadium and Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Italy organized the Games across six regions including Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo, minimizing new venue construction with low cost and sustainability as core values.

Milan, where ice sports will primarily take place, and Cortina d'Ampezzo, hosting curling and skiing events, are more than 400 kilometers apart, making it difficult for athletes to gather in one place. The opening ceremony was therefore designed to be held across various locations simultaneously.

Two Olympic cauldrons were installed at the Arco della Pace in Milan and Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

This marks the first time two city names have been included in a single Olympic title. It is also the first time two Olympic cauldrons have been lit simultaneously.

While the ceremony centered on Milan, events and athlete parades were held concurrently in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Predazzo, and Livigno.

The organizing committee chose "Armonia," the Italian word for harmony, as the ceremony's theme to reflect the distributed nature of these Games.

The ceremony was held before 80,000 spectators. Opening with a stage recreating works by 16th-century Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, dancers performed based on the myth of Cupid and Psyche, depicting eternal love between gods and humans, visually expressing the meaning of harmony.

Italian actress Matilda De Angelis appeared as a conductor of a large orchestra, performing alongside cast members wearing large masks of opera masters Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Gioachino Rossini, as well as dancers in musical note costumes.

Large paint tubes symbolizing Italian art and harmony descended from above, heightening the atmosphere.

Following a parade of characters representing Italian history from ancient Rome to the Renaissance, global diva Mariah Carey took the stage, singing "Volare" to energize the crowd.

After Italian President Sergio Mattarella and International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry entered, a tribute was held for Giorgio Armani, the Italian fashion legend who passed away in September last year. Models dressed in green, white, and red representing the Italian flag walked the stadium-turned-runway in his honor.

Italian supermodel Vittoria Ceretti carried and raised the Italian flag, while former Italian cross-country skiing national team members participated in the flag ceremony at the Cortina d'Ampezzo venue.

Athletes from 92 participating nations then paraded into the venues. The parade took place simultaneously at San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, the central square in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno Snow Park, and Predazzo Ski Jump Stadium.

The Korean delegation entered 22nd at San Siro Olympic Stadium, led by co-flag bearers figure skater Cha Jun-hwan (Seoul City Hall) and speed skater Park Ji-woo (Gangwon Provincial Office). Both athletes had the Korean flag painted on their cheeks and marched with a large national flag.

Sports officials including delegation head Lee Soo-kyung and Jincheon National Training Center director Kim Taek-soo followed, with a total of 21 people including 15 athletes led by figure skaters Lee Hae-in and Shin Ji-a waving Korean flags.

The Italian team, entering last, was led by four flag bearers, two each from Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Following President Mattarella's declaration of the Games open, the torch relay was showcased during a performance by world-renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli.

At San Siro Olympic Stadium, the Olympic flag was carried by marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya, Cindy Ngamba, the first Olympic medalist from the Refugee Team, humanitarian activist Filippo Grandi, Nicolò Govoni of Italy, Mariam Buka Hassan of Nigeria, six-time Olympic medalist gymnast Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, and Tadatoshi Akiba, former mayor of Hiroshima and nuclear disarmament activist from Japan.

In Cortina d'Ampezzo, Franco Nones, Italy's first cross-country skiing Olympic champion, and Italian short track national team member Martina Valcepina served as Olympic flag bearers.

At the previous Winter Games in Beijing 2022, approximately 2,900 athletes from 91 nations competed for 109 gold medals. Norway topped the medal standings with 16 golds, followed by Germany with 12 and the United States with nine. China, with home advantage, matched the U.S. with nine golds but finished fourth overall due to fewer total medals.

After the athletes' oath, the two cauldrons at the Arco della Pace in Milan and Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo were simultaneously lit by the final torchbearers.

The Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics will run through February 22, featuring 116 gold medals across eight sports and 16 disciplines.

This is the first Olympics held in Italy in 20 years since the 2006 Turin Games. It marks Italy's fourth Olympics overall, including both summer and winter editions. Italy's only Summer Games was the 1960 Rome Olympics.