MILAN (AP) 鈥� Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture 鈥� plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in 鈥淣el Blu Dipinto Di Blu鈥� aka 鈥淰olare鈥� 鈥� an , dual-cauldron got the officially started Friday.
Allowing athletes to participate in the Parade of Nations at the mountain locales for the in history created what perhaps was an unintended consequence: Zero competitors from any of the first five countries announced actually showed up at the main hub, Milan鈥檚 soccer stadium.
While signs bearing the names of Greece 鈥� which always leads the procession as the birthplace of the Olympics 鈥� Albania, Andorra, Saudi Arabia and Argentina were carried into the home of Serie A soccer titans AC Milan and Inter Milan, there were no athletes from those places around. Instead, they were participating at simultaneous festivities held at Cortina d鈥橝mpezzo in the heart of the Dolomites, Livigno in the Alps, and Predazzo in the autonomous province of Trento.
The first country with athletes at San Siro was Armenia 鈥� and their entrance drew raucous cheers from a crowd filled with 61,000 ticket-holders plus others.
Later, a smattering of boos met Israel鈥檚 four representatives at the Milan ceremony. There have been some calls for Israel to be banned from the Olympics over the war in Gaza, which with Hamas鈥� deadly attack in October 2023.
And while athletes from the U.S. were cheered when they appeared, was jeered when he was shown briefly on the arena’s video boards from his spot in the tribune. Support for the United States among its allies has been eroding as the Trump administration has taken an aggressive posture on foreign policy, including punishing tariffs, military action in Venezuela and threats to invade Greenland.
The contingent from Venezuela got a big backing when entering. So did that from Ukraine, .
The ceremony鈥檚 organizers have said they sought to convey themes of harmony and peace, seeking to represent the city-mountain dichotomy of the particularly unusual setup for these Olympics while also trying to appeal to a sense of unity at a time of global tensions. South African actor Charlize Theron and Italian rapper Ghali delivered messages of peace toward the end of the night.
鈥淚 hope the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful,鈥� new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said when asked this week about possible crowd reactions.
The loudest greeting was reserved, naturally, for host Italy, which walked in last, to an electronic version of 鈥淭he Barber of Seville.”
The ceremony was already nearly three hours old 鈥� and not yet done 鈥� by the time Italian President Sergio Mattarella officially declared the Milan Cortina Games open following a speech by Coventry, the first woman to lead the IOC.
鈥淭hank you for believing in the magic of the Olympic Games,鈥� she said, then several minutes later made sure to make mention of the 鈥渕edia rights holders鈥� who pay to broadcast the event.
Soon, tenor Andrea Bocelli’s voice was belting out Puccini鈥檚 鈥淣essun Dorma” and its closing refrain of 鈥淰incer貌,鈥� Italian for 鈥淚 will win!” As he concluded, torch bearers headed out of the arena toward a cauldron at the Arch of Peace, 2陆 miles (4 kilometers) from San Siro.
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鈥檚 geometric studies. The other is 250 miles (400 kilometers) away in Cortina.
All three flame-lighters 鈥� 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.
The full collection of competition venues for the next two-plus weeks dot an area of about 8,500 square miles (more than 22,000 square kilometers), roughly the size of the entire state of New Jersey. The multi-city ceremony format Friday allowed up-in-the-mountains sports such as , , and to be represented without requiring folks to make the several-hours-long trek to Milan.
It didn鈥檛 exactly feel like a Winter Games in the country’s financial capital, where the temperature was a tad below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), and the sky was a crisp, clear azure all afternoon Friday. Not a trace of clouds, let alone snow.
As Italy welcomed the world by displaying symbols of its heritage, the show produced by Olympic ceremony veteran Marco Balich began with of the famed Milan opera house reimagining 18th-century sculptor Antonio Canova鈥檚 marble works.
People wearing oversized, mascot-style heads representing opera composers Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi appeared on the central stage, before giant paint tubes floated above and dropped silk of red, blue and yellow 鈥� the primary colors 鈥� before an early parade of various-color-wearing characters arrived in the stadium. They represented music and art, literature and architecture, appreciations for beauty and history and, above all, 鈥淟a Dolce Vita鈥� (loosely, Italian for 鈥淭he Good Life鈥� and the name of a 1960 film by Federico Fellini).
There were references to ancient Rome, the Renaissance, the Venice Carnival and the country鈥檚 noted traditions in various areas such as cuisine and literature, such as 鈥淧inocchio鈥� and Dante鈥檚 鈥淚nferno.鈥�
A runway walk showcased outfits 鈥� created by the late fashion designer at 91 鈥� in the colors of Italy鈥檚 flag: red, green and white. And balladeer Laura Pausini sang Italy鈥檚 national anthem.
Carey got loud cheers in Milan as she sang in Italian. In Cortina, hundreds of fans sang along with her, and a roar emerged when they realized she was performing the song with the 鈥淰olare鈥� refrain.
Another local touch: Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore, of 鈥淲hite Lotus鈥� fame, led a segment that took viewers through a century of past Olympics, with examples of evolving equipment, sportswear and music. And actress and comedian Brenda Lodigiani demonstrated the popular Italian hand gestures often used to communicate in place of words.
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Associated Press writer Colleen Barry contributed to this report.
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