People in Cortina enjoy the Winter Olympics opening ceremony from a fanzone

Описание: (7 Feb 2026)
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Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy - 7 February 2026
1. Wide of fans watching the opening ceremony on a big screen
2. Banner reading (English): "Welcome to the 2026 host city Cortina"
3. Mid of fans cheering
4. Close of a USA jacket
5. Various of spectators watching, recording the event and cheering
6. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Giovanni Brino, spectator:
"I enjoyed the ceremony, though. Let's say the Olympic atmosphere was a bit turbulent for me, with both positive and negative thoughts, both in terms of infrastructure and resource management. But then, when it comes to the opening ceremony, let's say, everyone gets closer to the Olympic spirit and tries to enjoy the event. And as usual, the Olympics manage to bring that atmosphere of joy that distinguishes them, after all."
7. Tilt down from church bell to lit cauldron
8. Mid of person recording a video on their phone
9. Close of cauldron
10. SOUNDBITE (Italian) Matteo Battistella, spectator:
"The ceremony was very moving, I must say. Especially seeing the Olympic rings being formed was a beautiful moment. The speech on peace at this particular moment touched me deeply. Seeing how we can work together despite all our differences sends out a great message, which unfortunately clashes a bit with reality, but we hope it can be an invitation to the whole world to iron out differences."
11. Various of cauldron
12. Wide of flags lining a street
13. Banner reading (English): "Welcome to the 2026 host city Cortina"
STORYLINE:
Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture — plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” aka “Volare” - an unprecedented four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremony got the Milan Cortina Olympics officially started on Friday.

The ceremony was already nearly three hours old - and not yet done - by the time Italian President Sergio Mattarella officially declared the Milan Cortina Games open following a speech by Kirsty Coventry, the first woman to lead the IOC.

Fans clapped and cheered as they watched the ceremony.

“The ceremony was very moving, I must say. Especially seeing the Olympic rings being formed was a beautiful moment,” Matteo Battistella said, a spectator.

One symbol of how far-flung things are at these Olympics: instead of the usual one cauldron that is lit and burns throughout the Games, there were two, both intended as an homage to Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies.

The other is 250 miles (400 kilometers) away in Cortina.

All three flame-lighters - Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni in Milan, and Sofia Goggia in Cortina - are Olympic champion Alpine ski racers from Italy.

Tomba and Compagnoni are retired; Goggia is entered in the 2026 Games.

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