Here is a selection of images from the opening ceremony: Italian ballet dancers Antonella Albano and Claudio Coviello perform during the opening ceremony. Colorful dancers perform under large tubes of paint suspended above them during the opening ceremony.

You might want to avoid this feature if you're planning to watch the ceremony when it is rebroadcast on Friday night.

As the Milan-Cortina festivities unspooled across multiple locations, the theme of "harmony" felt more necessary - and harder to capture - than ever.

Wearing a wintery silver-and-white dress, Carey stood under a single spotlight as she sang a version of Domenico Modugno’s popular 1950s classic “Nel blu, dipinto di blu”, better known as “Volare,” before jumping into her song “Nothing Is Impossible” from her 2025 album, Here For It All.

Benjamin Karl, bottom center, carries Anna Gasser, flag bearer of Austria, as they walk with athletes during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

During the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, announcers had an opportunity to talk about the amazing athletes who are competing.

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance were spotted at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night in Milan, Italy.

The 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Games opening ceremony has begun at the historic San Siro stadium in Milan. The show began with an up-tempo tribute to Italian arts, culture and history. Canada's flag-bearers today are ski-cross racer Marielle Thompson and moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury,