Mariah Carey took center stage to help kick off the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony at 100-year-old San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy.

In the last Olympics, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, the U.S. went second-to-last as athletes paraded down the Seine River. The logic there was similar: Los Angeles is hosting the next summer Olympics in 2028.

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,

The Olympic Winter Games in Milan kicked off with a stunning slate of performances.

The performance in Milan looked squarely at the past, both in substance and in style.

Marco Balich has helped design grand spectacles at more than half a dozen Olympics. On Friday, he’ll do it again, on home turf in Italy.