February 6th marks the beginning of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games, and superstars Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli will kick off the celebration. Bocelli will sing Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” and Marco Balich, Creative Lead of the Opening Ceremony, has revealed that Carey will sing in Italian.
The 2026 opening ceremony is titled Armonia, or harmony. As explained by Balich: “Harmony means transforming our values into images, sounds and shared emotions. It is a journey inside the colors of Italy, but it also speaks to the whole world.”
The ceremony will take place across multiple locations. The heart of the event will be at Milano San Siro Olympic Stadium, but other locations, including the city of Cortina d’Ampezzo, set to host Olympic competitions will also be highlighted.
Creative director Damiano Michieletto’s goal is to bridge the cultural gap between the city and the mountains in an artistic experience: “We will try to create a specific language with choreography, music and staging,” he said. “Italy has a huge artistic tradition and somehow we will try to bring this tradition to the opening ceremony.”
Other performers include Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini and Italian-Tunisian rapper Ghali, who will perform in English, Italian, and French. Chinese pianist Lang Lang is additionally scheduled to play alongside his longtime collaborator, Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. “The process of making classical music and [of] the sports athletes are quite similar,” Lang Lang told NBC News ahead of the ceremony. “A lot of hard work among many hours of practice. And then the moment comes, the glorious moment comes, you have to give everything.”
It is not the pianist’s first Olympic performance; he performed at the 2008 opening ceremony in Beijing. Milan will also mark Bocelli’s second Olympic appearance, following his performance at the closing ceremony of the Torino games in 2006.
Shop our classical collection featuring limited edition vinyl and CDs here.
