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The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened Friday with an unprecedented ceremony split across multiple locations in the Italian Alps, marking the first time Olympic athletes have paraded at venues near their competition sites rather than gathering in a single stadium.
Some 2,900 athletes participated in celebrations at the San Siro stadium in Milan and at alpine venues in Cortina, Livigno, and Predazzo, approximately 400 kilometers apart. Organizers dispersed the traditional opening ceremony to minimize athlete travel in what officials have called the most geographically widespread Games in Olympic history.
Under tight security with helicopters overhead, the main ceremony at Milan's San Siro featured performances celebrating Italian culture and design. Dancers from Teatro alla Scala's academy opened the show alongside tributes to opera composers Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Gioachino Rossini, represented by performers wearing oversized heads of the masters.
American singer Mariah Carey performed "Volare" in Italian and "Nothing is Impossible" before a crowd that sang along. The ceremony also honored late fashion designer Giorgio Armani, with models wearing red, green, and white suits.
US Vice President JD Vance attended alongside Italian President Sergio Mattarella and International Olympic Committee chief Kirsty Coventry. Vance met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Friday and praised the Games organization. However, his delegation's security arrangements sparked controversy, as hundreds of students in Milan protested the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, despite Italian government assurances the agents would have no operational role on Italian soil.
In Cortina, where a separate intimate ceremony took place in the snow-covered resort hosting women's alpine skiing, American skier Lindsey Vonn successfully completed her first downhill training run despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. The 41-year-old's performance kept alive her medal hopes ahead of Sunday's final.
"No one would have believed I would be here... but I made it!!" Vonn posted on Instagram before the run. "I'm not going to waste this chance."
Vonn, who won Olympic gold in Vancouver 16 years ago and holds two bronze medals, wore a knee brace during the run and completed it without apparent difficulty. When asked by reporters if everything was "all good," she responded simply "yeah."
Two Olympic cauldrons will be lit simultaneously at Milan's Arch of Peace and in Cortina. Reports suggest Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy's most decorated alpine skiers, have been chosen as final torchbearers, though organizers have attempted to keep the selection confidential.
Competitive action has already begun in figure skating, with defending champions the United States taking an early lead in the team event behind world champion ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates. The men's downhill race begins Saturday, while China's Eileen Gu, a prominent figure at the 2022 Beijing Games, launches her bid for triple gold in women's slopestyle at Livigno Snow Park.
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