Photos: Highlights from the Winter Olympics opening ceremony

By Emily Bogle Italian ballet dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Friday. Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images hide caption The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off in Milan on Friday evening, local time. Athletes representing over 90 countries march into the San Siro stadium filled with thousands of spectators during the opening ceremony in Milan. 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics What to watch at the 2026 Olympics The performance paid homage to Italian music, art and culture with tributes to composers, visual artists and films in a colorful spectacle. Performers included Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, American singer Mariah and Italian ballet dancers Antonella Albano and Claudio Coviello, among dozens of other dancers. Here is a selection of images from the opening ceremony: Italian ballet dancers Antonella Albano and Claudio Coviello perform during the opening ceremony. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Colorful dancers perform under large tubes of paint suspended above them during the opening ceremony. Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Italian actress Matilda De Angelis (center) performs with dancers dressed as the three great masters of Italian opera: Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioachino Rossini. Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Mariah Carey sings during the opening ceremony. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Performers dressed in the colors of the Italian flag line up during the opening ceremony. Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Members of The Corazzieri, the Italian Corps of Cuirassiers, raise the Italian flag during the opening ceremony. Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Two performers are suspended between two large rings. Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images hide caption The Olympic Rings are revealed above dancers during the opening ceremony. Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Greece's flag bearer, Nefeli Tita, and other athletes representing Greece parade during the opening Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Canadian athletes march into the stadium. Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Colombia's flag bearer Fredrik Fodstad parades during the opening Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images hide caption South Korea's athletes parade during the opening Cameron Spencer/Pool/AFP via Getty Images hide caption Stoats Milo and Tina, the Paralympics and Olympics mascots, dance before the Olympic opening ceremony. Ben Curtis/AP hide caption Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor