The Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Was a Playful Celebration of Italian Culture: TV Review
By Alison Herman | Variety | Feb 6, 2026 3:51pm PT
The winter Olympic games are often seen as more of an appendix to their larger summertime counterparts than a tentpole in themselves. But in 2026, the parallels between Milan — which co-hosts the 25th winter Olympics with Cortina d’Ampezzo, a ski town near the Austrian border — and 2024 host city Paris are impossible to ignore. They also paid dividends in an opening ceremony that, much like the Seine-set one a year and a half ago, drew on the traditions of a European cultural capital to deliver a playful, detail-dense tone setter for the weeks to come. (The ceremony was covered live on NBC and its affiliated streaming service Peacock, preceded by an acknowledgement of “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie’s absence amid the ongoing search for her missing mother.) Even if Milan’s ceremony didn’t match the Paris one in scale, it made for an equally enthusiastic welcome to the world’s largest sporting event.
From a dance number that paid homage to the works of sculptor Antonio Canova to a performance of the iconic Puccini aria “Nessun dorma” by singer Andrea Bocelli, the ceremony’s producers opted to emphasize Italian identity throughout. (Apart from a random-seeming cameo by Charlize Theron to encourage peace among nations, that is. At least Mariah Carey sang a bit of Italian when she covered “Volare”!) The creative portion of the ceremony, bracketing the parade of athletes led by guides in full-length parka gowns, spanned high art and low: a procession of models in suits by the namesake house of the late designer Giorgio Armani in the hues of the tricolor Italian flag and a gloriously goofy, Eurovision-esque dance number led by Sabrina Impacciatore of “The White Lotus” and “The Paper.” The Italian ethos spans both refined tailoring and shiny metallic ski suits paired with face glitter, and the ceremony reflected both extremes.
While Impacciatore is known to international audiences thanks to her work in American TV, the ceremony incorporated other Italian talents who have yet to become as recognizable on the world stage. Actress and comedian Brenda Lodigiani performed a miming act riffing on the Italian trope of communicating with one’s hands, while actor Pierfrancesco Favino staged a dramatic reading of Giacamo Leopardi’s famous poem “L’Infinito.” Model Vittoria Ceretti, best known stateside for her romantic relationship with Leonardo Dicaprio, acted as a courier for the Italian flag…
