VIDEO SHOWS: MILAN-CORTINA ORGANISERS GIVING INITIAL DETAILS OF WINTER OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY DURING PRESS CONFERENCE AT SAN SIRO STADIUM / FILE FOOTAGE OF STADIUM EXTERIORS / FILE FOOTAGE OF DRONE VIEWS OF CORTINA RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MILAN, ITALY (OCTOBER 16, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. MILANO CORTINA PRESS CONFERENCE AT SAN SIRO STADIUM 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MILANO CORTINA CEO, ANDREA VARNIER, SAYING: "For the first time in history, we have decided to hold ceremonies, mainly the opening ceremony, in two locations. What does this mean? It means, first of all, that for the first time, the name of our games includes two cities: Milan and Cortina. This automatically gives us a moral obligation to hold the most significant ceremonial events twice." 3. VARNIER SPEAKING 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MILANO CORTINA OPENING CEREMONY CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MARCO BALICH, SAYING: "The opening ceremony stems from a simple word, harmony, from the Greek 'armonia', which means to bring together: to bring together different elements in consonance, referring to musical terms. In our opinion, it perfectly captures the spirit of this ceremony, but also of this edition of the Games in general. Why? Because, first of all, there are two territories, Milan and Cortina, hence city and mountains, so extending the metaphor, it becomes a dialogue between man and nature: the harmony between man and nature, which is ultimately the recipe for the survival of this planet." 5. CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS 6. (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MILANO CORTINA DIRECTOR OF CEREMONIES, MARIA LAURA IASCONE, SAYING: “All this tale, which will be a tale of emotion, will have to guarantee the pride of Italians in watching it. We will have to ensure that we tell about our territories, tell about Italy, tell about the value of sport, the value of Italy." MILAN, ITALY (FILE) (REUTERS – Access all) 7. VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF SAN SIRO STADIUM CORTINA, ITALY (FILE) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE) 8. VARIOUS OF DRONE VIEWS OF CORTINA 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, the organising committee announced on Thursday (October 16). Milan is co-hosting the Games with the Dolomite town of Cortina d'Ampezzo next year. "For the first time in history, we have decided to hold the opening ceremony in two locations," said Andrea Varnier, CEO of the organising committee. 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. "The word harmony means keeping things together, and blends well with these Games, which combine a city and the mountains," said creative director Marco Balich. 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: Alex Fraser, Matteo Negri)
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