Italy celebrates as Olympic Games open
Grand ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. 185 German athletes will be taking part.
Milan (dpa) - Grand Olympic spectacle: the 25th Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo have kicked off with a colourful three-hour spectacle. Italian President Sergio Mattarella declared the Games open at 10.51 pm. The Winter Olympics, which continue until Sunday in two weeks, will see 2,900 athletes from more than 90 countries competing for gold, silver and bronze medals in 16 disciplines and 116 events. 185 athletes from Germany will be taking part.
After entering the stadium as Germany’s flag bearer,ski jumper Katharina Schmid said: “It was a really special moment that I’ll never forget.” 67,000 spectators watched the opening show and athletes’ parade at Milan’s San Siro football stadium. For the first time, parallel events were also celebrated at three other venues - in Cortina, the second host town, and in Predazzo and Livigno.
The Italian team received the loudest applause. Whistles were heard when Israel’s team entered the stadium, and when US Vice President JD Vance appeared on a huge screen. To the delight of the crowd in the stadium, US pop diva Mariah Carey sang an Italian classic in Italian: “Nel blu, dipinto di blu”, better known as “Volare”.
