VIDEO SHOWS: VARIOUS OF OPENING CEREMONY CONCEPT LAUNCH, INTERVIEWS WITH MILANO CORTINA 2026 EXECUTIVES AND VARIOUS OF SAN SIRO STADIUM. SHOWS: MILAN, ITALY (RECENT) (IOC – Editorial use only. No monetisation) 1. VARIOUS OF OPENING CEREMONY CONCEPT LAUNCH 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MILANO CORTINA 2026 PRESIDENT, GIOVANNI MALAGO, SAYING: "Well it's difficult because of course it's an operational challenge to have staff all over, to have volunteers all over, and to have two cauldrons and multiple touch bearers. But for the parade it's mostly a television challenge, to make sure everybody will see the athletes of that single nation parading together, even if they are in different locations. So I think it's a great adventure, we took this challenge on and we will experiment this way." 3. WHITE FLASH 4. SOUNDBITE) (English) MILANO CORTINA 2026 OPENING CEREMONY CREATIVE LEAD MARCO BALICH, SAYING: "This opening ceremony will be a celebration of armonia [harmony] Italia, so full of Italian beauty, but also aim to celebrate peace which is the ultimate armonia [harmony] that the world needs right now." 5. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF SAN SIRO STADIUM 6. VARIOUS INTERIORS OF SAN SIRO STADIUM 7. MILANO CORTINA 2026 PROMOTIONAL VIDEO STORY: The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be staged at Milan’s famous San Siro stadium and feature other venues across northern Italy. Milan is co-hosting the Games with the Dolomite town of Cortina d'Ampezzo next year, and in a Winter Olympics first, will hold the opening ceremony in two locations. In addition to Milan and Cortina, athletes will also parade in the Games' venues of Predazzo and Livigno, with delegations from the same country potentially split across different sites, organisers said. San Siro will be the focal point for the opening night of February 6, with a ceremony seeking to emphasise “harmony” – a Greek-rooted concept evoking unity in diversity. At its heart will be a striking spiral-shaped LED stage, transforming the pitch into a dynamic hub. Four ramps will radiate from the central structure, in a layout designed to evoke connection and flow. The ceremony will retrace the history and spirit of Italy and celebrate its prominent figures, from Leonardo da Vinci to Giorgio Armani, the designer who made Milan his home and died last month. Breaking with tradition, there will also be two Olympic cauldrons. One will be lit at the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) monument in Milan, while the other will burn in Piazza Dibona, a square in the heart of Cortina. The opening ceremony is likely to be one of the last major events at the San Siro, as the century-old stadium is facing demolition in the coming years, with a new arena planned nearby by soccer clubs AC Milan and Inter. (Production: Lucy Thomson, Matteo Negri)
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