Mix of politics and pride as opening ceremony gets Milano Cortina Olympics under way

Milan: Australia’s strong winter Olympic team has marched in four separate groups, spread across northern Italy, at an opening ceremony highlighted by Italian music, fashion and creative exuberance, but also with pointed political reactions to current events.

Australia was led by flag-bearers Jakara Anthony and Matt Graham, who were stationed in the faraway village of Livigno, where 23 of the country’s 53 athletes marched - a reflection of Australia’s strength in alpine events, where Anthony is favourite to repeat her gold medal in her women’s moguls event, and one of several medal prospects.

But the central ceremony in Milan’s San Siro Stadium, famed as the home of soccer giants AC and Inter Milan, also contained a note of discord from the Italian theme of “armonia” (harmony) – as there were pockets of boos for both the Israel and United States teams that marched before 60,000 or so in Milan.

The booing was not loud for Israel’s four-member team in Milan and was mixed with cheers.

The reaction to the powerful American team was an initial roar as they entered the stadium, but followed with outbreaks of boos as Vice President JD Vance appeared on screen at the stadium in Milan.

This has followed controversy over the presence of immigration enforcement agents, ICE, at the Milano Cortina Olympics, to assist with security for American officials.

The Ukraine team, conversely, was given a rapturous reception by the Milan Stadium, second in volume only to the host country, who delivered a colourful package of music, dance, fashion and artistic expression. It was, clearly, a show of support from Italians to the Ukrainians in their war with Russia.

The ceremony featured Italian performers, headed by tenor Andrea Bocelli, along with American pop singer Mariah Carey and an exhortation from actress and United Nations peace ambassador Charlize Theron “for peace everywhere” which carried a political current, too.

The American pop culture presence in the opening ceremony was noteworthy and will be underscored during the Games by the now-familiar figure of rapper Snoop Dogg, who earned a fortune in Paris 2024 and at the AFL grand final last year.

Bocelli’s stunning high notes represented the highest note of the performances.

The Milan version of the ceremony concluded with the lighting of the torch by famed ex-skier Alberto Tomba, while 2018 downhill gold medallist Sofia Goggia lit the flame in Cortina, the other city bearing the name of these dispersed Olympics.

Australia’s Cortina contingent compromised 10 athletes, including potential gold medallist in bobsled Bree Walker, while five marched in Milan and just two in Predazzo.

Skier Daisy Thomas could not join the Australians marching in Livigno after suffering a crash and injury in training early in the day.

Italian soprano Cecelia Bartoli sang the Olympic anthem, popular singer-songwriter Laura Pausini did likewise for the Italian national anthem; it was an entertainment package that mixed the Italian traditional, such as opera, with the more contemporary and commercial.

Actress Sabrina Impacciatore, best known for her role in the dark comedy/drama White Lotus, also led a theatrical routine accompanied by dance.

This was in tune with the promise of the Milano Cortina 2026 creative director Marco Balich to portray a “modern Italy, looking to the future” with nods to the nation’s cultural traditions.

Mariah Carey’s rendition of Volare – a song more than familiar to Italian-Australians – was well-received within the Stadium, albeit Carey wore some online heat for allegedly lip-synching.

And now, we have the flame, the end of the relay, and the cauldrons - yes, plural. There’s one in Milan at the Arco della Pace and one in Cortina at the Angelo Dibona Square.

And the cauldrons, if I may say so, are quite brilliant. They are tributes to the work of Leonardo da Vinci and his “Knots”.

Again, this is how the show notes describe them: “complex geometries that express the harmony between nature, human ingenuity, and technical expertise. A visual language rooted in Italian history, now expressed through design, research, and innovation.”

As Travis Scott once said ... it’s lit. Or they’re lit. Simultaneously, again, in both cities. They’ve done this multi-location ceremony really well, I reckon.

We’re into the final section of the ceremony. The show notes are going to explain what’s happening more eloquently than I can:

“A young girl plays with a model of the solar system, a simple and universal gesture that opens her eyes to the future. In the background, her thoughts begin to take shape: the girl speaks in the first person, quoting Margherita Hack’s words as an echo of knowledge passed down through generations. She speaks of the Sun, a star destined to warm the Earth for billions of years, making life possible. From this awareness comes a choice: with determination, the girl affirms her desire to care for the planet, the only one in the galaxy known to host life.

Her words accompany the arrival of Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut with the European Space Agency and the first Italian woman to serve on the International Space Station. Cristoforetti brings a bright Sun to the stage, symbolically illuminating the sky. Around her, human constellations form the Milky Way, transforming the stage into a moving galaxy.”

It’s been a long night for us, morning for you, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

We’ve had the Olympic flag delivered simultaneously into Milan and Cortina, what we’re hearing now is the Olympic anthem – then it’s the oath, the lighting of the torches, and then a bit more performance to finish off the show, and we are doneskis. Phew.

Who else but Andrea Bocelli could be up to the task of soundtracking the lighting of not one, but two Olympic cauldrons?

The legendary Italian singer delivered a masterclass in navigating one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera, performing Nessun Dorma as torch bearers kicked off the Olympic flame’s final leg.

It’s being carried to the Arch of Peace, three kilometres away from San Siro Stadium, which is home to Milan’s Olympic cauldron. But there is another cauldron in Cortina.

Nessun Dorma culminates with a repetition of the word “Vincerò“, which means “I will win”.

After speeches from Giovanni Malagò, the president of the Milano Cortina 2026 organising committee, and Kirsty Coventry, the president of the International Olympic Committee, the latter has just handed the floor over to Sergio Mattarella, the president of the Italian Republic – and he has just declared these Games as officially open.

So there you go. We’re off and racing. And now we await the lighting of the torch, which will be accompanied by the incomparable voice of the great Andrea Bocelli.

The Italian language is a beautiful thing – but even more beautiful are Italian gestures.

Our people speak more with their hands than their mouths, and we’ve just had a demonstration of exactly that by comedian and actress Brenda Lodigiani, who has ripped through some of the classics in a clever short performance which borrowed from the tradition of miming and from the works of the late Italian artist, designer, and design theorist Bruno Munari.

He famously analysed and codified the typical gestures in a 1963 book titled “Supplemento al dizionario italiano”, or “A supplementary Italian dictionary.”

According to the show notes: “It is often said that the average Italian person makes over 200 hand gestures a day while speaking. In Italy, gestures are an integral part of communication, serving to emphasise concepts, express emotions, or even replace entire words. In Italy, hand gestures are almost a “parallel language”; sometimes, an observer can understand what you’re communicating simply from your gestures, even without listening to your words.”

It’s true. Vero.