Vance booed, political tensions surface at slick Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Italy launched the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday with a slick and colourful ceremony that celebrated the country’s history, arts and fashion but where global political tensions surfaced in the crowd reaction. Italian President Sergio Mattarella formally declared the Games open at the main event in Milan’s San Siro stadium as part of an unprecedented show that also linked to celebrations in co-host Cortina d’Ampezzo, more than 400km away in the Dolomites. US Vice President JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio were among the crowd in the iconic soccer stadium for the performance entitled “Armonia” (Harmony) that lasted three and a half hours.

Vance, who has been strongly critical of Europe, drew jeers in the stadium when an image of him waving the US flag appeared on a big screen. The announcement of the Israeli team prompted some booing in Milan over the loud soundtrack, but there were cheers in Cortina. Israel has a team of 10 in Italy.

The group of five athletes from Ukraine in Milan drew huge cheers. International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said the Games should bring people together. “Let these Games be a celebration of what unites us — of everything that makes us human.

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“This is the magic of the Olympic Games: inspiring us all to be the best we can be together,” she added. For the first time, two Olympic cauldrons, one of the symbols of the Games, were lit simultaneously and will burn throughout — one at Milan’s Arco della Pace (Peace Arch) and the other in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona. Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy’s most successful Alpine skiers who both won three Olympic gold medals, lit the cauldron at the 19th-century Milan monument.

Sofia Goggia, one of Italy’s top medal hopes for these Games, did the honours in Cortina. She became the first Italian woman to win an Olympic downhill gold at the 2018 edition.

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