02/22/26 04:05:00
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02/22 16:03 CST Twin Milan and Cortina Olympic cauldrons are extinguished,
signaling the end of Winter Games
Twin Milan and Cortina Olympic cauldrons are extinguished, signaling the end of
Winter Games
By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press
VERONA, Italy (AP) --- The Milan Cortina Olympics ended Sunday as the twin
flames in co-host cities Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo were extinguished as part
of a closing ceremony inside the ancient Verona Arena, roughly mid-distance
between the far-flung mountain, valley and city venues that made these the most
spread-out Winter Games ever.
In declaring the 2026 Games over, International Olympic Committee President
Kirsty Coventry told local organizers that they "delivered a new kind of winter
games and you set a new, very high standard for the future."
A total of 116 medal events have been held in eight Olympic sports across 16
disciplines, including the debut of ski mountaineering this year, over the
course of 17 days of competition.
The closing ceremony paid tribute to Italian dance and music --- from lyric
opera to Italian pop of the 20th century to the DJ beat of Gabry Ponte, who got
the 1,500 athletes on their feet for an upbeat dance number while color
confetti exploded on stage.
Earlier, the 2026 Winter Olympians filed into the arena waving small national
flags to a rousing medley of Italian pop hits from the 20th century as the
crowd sang along, taking their seats in the stone arena in places marked by
green, red and white lights for the Italian flag.
The 2-hour ceremony opened with a whimsical tribute to Italian lyric opera,
with the stage director rousing not only the closing ceremony cast, including
Italian singer Achille Lauro, but also long-dormant opera characters tucked
away in crates within the amphitheater's tunnels.
On stage, Madama Butterfly in a bright pink and green costume and Aida in
golden tiers were unpacked from mirrored crates while 17th century musicians
played the joyous "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from La Traviata, a nod to the
Arena's long history as the venue for a summer opera festival.
The opera characters, led by the jester Rigoletto, spilled out into the piazza
outside, mixing with the bemused athletes who were flag-bearers for their
countries, some ofwhom pulled out their phones to film.
In a key moment, the Olympic flame encased in a Venetian glass vessel was
carried into the Arena by Italian gold medalists from the 1994 Lillehammer
Games. The Olympic rings illuminated in white appeared high on the stone stairs
behind the stage, flanked by national flags, when one raised the flame in the
center of the stage.
This was the first Olympics for Coventry, a two-time Olympic champion in
swimming, who watched much of the ceremony alongside Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni.
Some 12,000 spectators joined the athletes and officials for the closing
ceremony, which was much more intimate affair than the opening ceremony
starring Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli inside Milan's San Siro soccer
stadium, attended by more than 60,000 people.
Key moments included the Olympic flag is handed over to the next Winter Games
host nation, France.
The Milan Cortina Games spanned an area of 22,000 square kilometers (8,500
square miles), from ice sports in Milan to biathlon in Anterselva on the
Austrian border, snowboarding and men's downhill in Valtellina on the Swiss
border, cross-country skiing in the Val di Fiemme north of Verona and women's
downhill, curling and sliding sports in co-host Cortina d'Ampezzo.
It's a model that will remain for future Games, to avoid the expense of
building new facilities. The 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps will stage
events in the Alps and Nice, on the Mediterranean Sea, while speedskating will
be held abroad in a venue to be decided.
The closing ceremony concluded with the Olympic flames extinguished at the
unprecedented two caldrons in Milan and Cortina, viewed in Verona via video
link. A light show substituted fireworks, which are not allowed in Verona, to
protect animals from being disturbed.
The Milan Cortina Paralympics' opening ceremony will also take place in the
Verona Arena, on March 6, and the Games will run until March 15.
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AP Winter Olympics coverage:
https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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