The Parade of Nations will feature athletes led by national flag bearers not only in Milan’s San Siro stadium, which will be packed with 60,000 spectators, but also, for the first time in Olympic history, in three other venues: the mountain venues of Cortina, Predazzo and Livigno.
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The Olympic events are scheduled from February 6 to 22 at venues spanning the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto, as well as the autonomous provinces of Alto Adige and Trentino, with many hours of travel between them. The spread of the Parade of Nations will allow athletes from all disciplines to participate, no matter how remote they may be, organizers said at a press conference.
“The Opening Ceremony is the entrance, an invitation,” said Andrea Varnier, executive director of the Milan-Cortina organizing committee. While each nation has its favorite sporting events, “the only time that is truly for everyone is the Opening Ceremony.” “It is the moment that defines this edition of the Games, in its spirit.”
Biathlon athletes competing in Anterselva, on the border with Austria, will be able to take part in nearby Cortina, in the Veneto Dolomites, while men’s alpine skiers competing in Bormio, in Lombardy, near Switzerland, will be able to join the parade in Livigno, where snowboarding and freestyle skiing will take place, just 45 minutes away. distance.
Each nation is assigned two flag bearers, and they can appear in two different locations. Italy, as host, will have four flag bearers, two men and two women.
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Similarly, the Olympic flame will burn in two locations: the Arco della Pace in central Milan and in Cortina’s main Piazza Dibona. The design of the cauldrons has not yet been revealed.
Organizers said the concept of the Opening Ceremony will be “Harmony”, representing the duality of urban and mountainous venues for these games, as well as an attraction at a time of enormous global tensions.
“If I can achieve that and send a strong message of peace, I think we will achieve our goal,” said Marco Balich, the Italian producer of the opening and closing ceremonies, his 16th Olympic and Paralympic Games as producer or creative director.
The headliners will be named later, but organizers announced a moment of tribute to the late fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died on September 4 at the age of 91.
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Armani designed the Italian national team’s Olympic and Paralympic uniforms for decades and was a personal friend of the former president of the Italian National Olympic Committee, Giovanni Malagò.
“The ceremony speaks of harmony, it speaks of beauty, it speaks of design, it speaks of Italian style,” said Malagò, who is now president of the local organizing committee. “There will be a moment of emotion, and even a standing ovation, in gratitude, for Giorgio Armani.”
The opening ceremony will focus attention on the San Siro stadium, home of the Inter Milan and AC Milan football clubs. It is scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a new team-owned stadium.
“It is an icon of the city. It is very important that in its history San Siro has also hosted an Olympic Ceremony, something that not many stadiums in the world have done,” Varnier said.
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AP Sports Writer Daniella Matar contributed.