NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Milan Cortina Olympics’ flashy opening ceremony averaged 21.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, a jump of 34% from the opening for the 2022 winter games in Beijing, per preliminary data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

MILAN (AP) — Featuring tributes to da Vinci and Dante, Puccini and Pausini, Armani and Fellini, pasta and vino, and other iconic tastes of Italian culture — plus Mariah Carey hitting all the high notes in “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu” aka “Volare” — an unprecedented four-site,

Anyone else get goosebumps?

Milan's San Siro Stadium played the role of primary host. But, in the spirit of these unusually widespread Games, simultaneous celebrations were also held in the clusters of Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina d'Ampezzo, which — for the first time ever — lit a second Olympic cauldron.

A rousing Opening Ceremony that included everything from dancing musical notes to massive paint tubes to massive flying Olympic rings to Mariah Carey ended with a dramatic reveal as Italian legends Sofia Goggia, Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni lit the two torches that will burn for the length of the Winter Olympics.

Featuring planned tributes to da Vinci, Dante and other symbols of Italian culture, plus an appearance by Mariah Carey, a four-site, dual-cauldron opening ceremony kicked off the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

The Winter Olympics began with a rare dual-city opening in Italy, with Greece leading tradition at the 25th Winter Games.

The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics kicked off on Friday with an unprecedentedly widespread opening ceremony that was certainly more somber that the Paris 2024 opener but still delivered a classy spectacle and projected an overall elegance that reflects its Italian spirit.

What it was like to be in San Siro Stadium to kick off the Winter Games