Every Single Thing Happening at the 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

It feels like this should have ended with Bocelli, right?

And now, Charlize Theron

Reciting her beloved countryman Nelson Mandela.

Ghali is a Tunisian rapper and Muslim who has rapped about members of Italy’s government being fascist

So I am going to endorse everything he does.

What if they all broke into an Ann Lee dance

I would collapse.

Oh thank god, more interpretive dance

Andrea Boccelli said, ‘I can hold it LONGER, BITCHES’

Italian hand gestures get a starring role in the Opening Ceremony

Italian actress Brenda Lodigiani playfully taught the audience common Italian hand gestures – the kind you’d use to show you’re annoyed or to ask for another cup of coffee. She did this to help athletes who aren’t familiar with Italian culture understand these signals, and a quick test on the gestures is coming up soon.

Please enjoy this footage of the crowd inside San Siro stadium booing JD Vance when he’s shown on the big screen

Sabrina Impacciatore clowns her way through a pantomime performance set to dance music.

Her punishment? She’s stuck repeating famous Winter Olympics moments while dressed in a ridiculously shiny bodysuit. Let’s hope the dancing keeps her from freezing!

I needed at least 30 more seconds of Sabrina dancing alone

The U.S. should have Julia Louis Dreyfus do this exact routine ahead of the L.A. games

What is this AI-animated tour through time Sabrina is taking us on

Not Sabrina Impacciatore being menaced by the first openly Gen-Z Olympic mascots

Team Italy dressed like rainbow cookies

I thought Team USA was gonna wear Skims

I get that it’s tradition, but it would be nice if Ralph Lauren let another house style Team USA eventually

Mexico gunning for the lead in the outerwear ball

Ireland had the chance to rock the Kneecap balaclava and didn’t take it

India, what are you doing?

Incredibly colorful culture and they’re wearing like, a hotel’s navy blue loaner jacket

Haiti showed out

Nobody else is doing variety.

Great Britain with the Christmas sweater energy

All the things the Olympics ring entry reminded us of so far:

Here are some recent favorites from our team: Morgan Baila loves Love Is Blind, Craig Jenkins is into Sonic Adventure, Roxana Hadadi was surprisingly bothered by the portals in Doctor Strange (despite trying to forget those movies), and Alejandra Gularte still enjoys playing Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games at Dave & Buster’s.

German bucket hats, will I ever know peace

It feels like this trend has been around forever, and I thought it would have faded by now. I will say, though, ponchos were a nice part of it.

Colombia with the first fit to drop my jaw

I love the puffy Canada fits

They look like Yogi Bears

Snoop Dogg is putting on a brave face after his 10-month-old granddaughter died this week.

His daughter announced her passing on Instagram.

Team Brazil is dancing like they’re in Jennifer Hudson’s spirit tunnel

Greece uniforms are giving Lisa Rinna in The Traitors

Greece gets to go first in the Parade of Athletes because the Olympics originated there

All countries will be listed alphabetically, with three exceptions. Italy, France (hosting the Winter Games in the Alps in 2030), and the U.S. (hosting the Winter Games in Salt Lake City in 2034) will be listed last as the current and future host nations.

So are the two rings in love or do they hate each other or what

I didn’t know Sonic was Italian

One thing I like about the Opening Ceremony is that it forces the world to engage with forms of art that are otherwise ignored in popular culture: modern dance, poetry, classical music, large head-making, etc.

Pierfrancesco Favino is reciting ‘L’infinito,’ by Giacomo Leopardi

It’s so sad Valentino died right before this

‘We should have women walk’ is a genius idea

I would be so mad if I were in the green suit. Red and white are cunty, and green is Christmas.

You gotta give people a notification before showing J.D. Vance

Them doing this in L.A. is gonna be so funny

Mariah Carey commanding the world stage to let everyone know she can still do the whistle thing on command

Mariah should bring out Hilary Duff as Isabella

Finally, Italo disco gets the Olympic tribute it deserves

Molto bene! But we’ve been on this beat for a long time.

At first I thought those music scrolls were sheets of pasta dough, apologies to Italy

I am watching on CBC, where they just cut from the Opening Ceremony to a commercial for the new Super Mario movie.

What a way to honor ITALY.

AI could never give you the detail of those papier-mâché heads

Not them making Verdi, Rossini, and Puccini look like those guys who run around the bases in between innings

This paparazzi moment reminds me of the amazing dancing paparazzi in Diana: The Musical.

It looks like a Traitors challenge

More brand synergy!

What if, somewhere, Bad Bunny is watching this like, ‘Shit, this was what I was planning for the Super Bowl on Sunday’?

This segment is reminding me of the Greece ceremony where the figures on an urn came to life

Opening the Olympics with an ode to the decorative angel statuary in Milan’s opera house, I love the assertion of art’s supremacy over sports

Which of course reminds me of the very beginning of Hercules (1997).

The Olympics kick NBC and Peacock’s all-timer sports run

For sports fans, NBC is the place to be over the next few months. They’re broadcasting the Olympics, the Super Bowl this weekend, and the NBA All-Star Game later this month. Plus, they’ll be showing the Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup this summer. You could say NBC is a sports powerhouse!

Our favorite charge nurse, The Pitt’s Katherine LaNasa, has been spotted at the Olympics Opening Ceremony to remind us who the real national heroes are: actors (jk, nurses, I know). Winter Olympics Pittsburgh 2038?

As my colleague Joe Adalian noted, HBO Max has the rights to broadcast the Olympics in Europe. This is also why we might see the stars of Heated Rivalry featured today.

Taylor Swift is grateful for the Olympians’ ‘journey’

She cleverly used the opportunity to feature her new song, “Opalite,” in a video message shown before the Opening Ceremony. That’s a perfect example of how well everything came together!

Italy Opening Ceremony would be a great place for Elena Ferrante to reveal her true identity

Shaun White making his debut as Olympic commentator

It’s his first time attending the Olympics without competing.

Adam Driver should appear as both Enzo Ferrari and Maurizio Gucci at this ceremony