Italians embrace unity, boo JD Vance at Olympics

MILAN — Spread across more than 265 miles in 4 different cities from the snowy Dolomites to the sunny — for now — streets of Milan, the Milan-Cortina Olympics delivered one message.

Unity.

The most widespread Olympic Games in historical past showcased Italy’s idyllic snow-capped mountains, cutting-edge metropolis life and celebrated winter legacy in the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Games on Friday. The distinctive setup that required 4 ceremonies in Milan, Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina d’Ampezzo used film magic on video screens, a golden ring and Italian icon Andrea Bocelli to bridge the distance between host cities Milan and Cortina and unite the Olympics behind the athletes who will compete across seven sports activities zones in the next 16 days.

“Let these Games be a celebration of what unites us, of everything that makes us human,” International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said in her speech, her first at an Olympic Games under her management. “This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best that we can be — together.”

The theme for Milan-Cortina’s opening ceremony was armonia, or concord. The Games needed it.

These Olympics seem to be the most disconnected ever. The sprawling footprint covers seven different competitors zones. The 2026 Games are the first to be formally hosted by two cities.

But the geographical distance is small in contrast to the geopolitical canyon the Games hope to bridge.

The ongoing battle in Ukraine is preserving most Russian athletes out of the competitors. Only 32 athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports have been allowed and may have to compete as particular person impartial athletes. They won’t hear their national anthems or put on their national flags. Ukrainian athletes marched into San Siro Stadium — where athletes competing in ice sports activities participated in the opening ceremony — to loud cheers.

When discuss of protest or political battle arose this week, Coventry tried to downplay it to keep the main target on the Games. She called controversy about LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman and ICE brokers in Milan “sad” distractions. The United States was at the middle of a lot of the competition after reviews regarding the presence of U.S. immigration brokers in Milan prompted anti-ICE protests. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee tried to cool tensions by clarifying that the group does work with the federal authorities to help secure the Games, but the USOPC works with the Diplomatic Security Service, which falls under the jurisdiction of the State Department and not Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

President Trump’s latest feedback about the United States taking control of Greenland from Denmark also angered European allies.

On Friday, an American fan walked around the concourse at San Siro Stadium in a sweatshirt that read in a number of languages: “Sorry for our president.”

When Vice President JD Vance, sitting in the presidential suite, was shown on the video screen at San Siro, the cheers that showered U.S. athletes when they entered the stadium turned into jeers. Vance attended a number of occasions this week, including the U.S. ladies’s hockey’s group stage opener Thursday and the crew determine skating competitors Friday.

Flag bearer Erin Jackson of Team USA walks with her teammates during Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics at San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The 323-athlete U.S. delegation led by flag bearers speedskater Erin Jackson in Milan and bobsled athlete Frank Del Duca in Cortina was the most important in the nation’s Winter Olympics historical past and the most important of any nation at the Milan-Cortina Games.

Athletes marched into Milan’s San Siro Stadium, the home of AC Milan and Inter Milan, across a spiral-shaped stage. The 4 ramps converging into a circle represented the connection between Milan, Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina.

Even if athletes of a nation weren’t competing in Milan and have been unable to attend the opening ceremony, a sign-holding volunteer dressed in a silver floor-length puffer costume strutted across the stage while screens confirmed athletes marching in during ceremonies at other Olympic areas around Italy.

In Cortina, a Brazilian athlete did a backflip after speaking through a golden ring portal, a shared image at each ceremony. While Olympians in Milan walked into a packed stadium with flashing lights and thumping techno music performed by a DJ at a turntable that appeared like ice, the mountain ceremonies came about through the streets. Fans assembled on either facet of the walkway for the parade of athletes.

Dancers carry out during the Milan-Cortina Olympics opening ceremony Friday.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

The ceremony hit on the quintessential northern Italian expertise. A plate of risotto was among the first pictures shown on the video board in the countdown video as the ceremony approached, adopted by the picturesque snowy peaks of the Dolomites. As a fashion capital of the world, Milan used runway fashions dressed in inexperienced, white and crimson outfits designed by Giorgia Armani to characterize the Italian flag. There was even a two-minute video on Italian hand gestures.

Italy, as the host nation, marched in last to deafening applause and cheers from the gang in Milan. In about two years, the United States may have the consideration of closing the parade of athletes when L.A. hosts the 2028 Summer Games. The opening ceremony is also deliberate to happen in a number of areas, with the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium co-hosting the event.

To unite the Italian host cities, the Olympic flame was handed out of the stadium as Bocelli belted and the torch concurrently reached two cauldrons. In Milan, the pulsating cauldron impressed by the solar will burn at Arco della Pace. In Cortina, it should mild up Piazza Angelo Dibona.

Call them twin flames.