Milano Cortina holding final rehearsals for grand opening of 2026 Winter Games

MILAN, Jan 29 : Inside a temporary rehearsal compound next to Milan's historic San Siro stadium, the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics is taking shape as hundreds of professional dancers and volunteers polish the final details of the global event.

Over 1,300 performers, including around 1,200 volunteers from 27 countries, have been preparing for months in the tent. 

But with just a week to go before the curtain rises on February 6, rehearsals are about to shift from the compound into the soccer arena itself.

San Siro, however, will not be the only stage of the show.

Sharing the global spotlight with the Lombardy capital Milan will be several other ski resorts across northern Italy: co-host Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno in Valtellina and Predazzo in the Trento province, marking the first "widespread ceremony" in the history of the Games.

Creative director Marco Balich, a veteran of Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies including the opening of the 2006 Turin Winter Games, has built a show around the Greek concept of "harmony," understood as the meeting of city and mountains, man and nature, and the many cultures that share the Olympic space.

"Twenty years on from Turin, it's a different country and a different world," Balich said.

"Today, we want to show that Italy, though small, has influenced global habits through design, fashion and food. With this ceremony we want to acknowledge that legacy, and also use the Olympic stage to renew the message of peace and of shared human values."

"WE HAVE PUSHED 'ITALIANNESS' AS FAR AS WE COULD"

The show will celebrate Italian history, culture and identity in a contemporary and playful key. 

"The ceremony should also make people smile," Maria Laura Iascone, Director of Ceremonies for the