MARIAH CAREY will sing a song in Italian at the iconic San Siro stadium that “will touch the hearts” of millions when she helps to open the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Grammy Award-winning American singer will feature in the two-and-a-half hour Opening Ceremony of the Italian Games on the night of Friday, February 6.
Known globally for her smash hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You”, the 56-year-old New Yorker will play a key role in the glitzy event – with a special song in the local language.
Marco Balich, the creative lead for the show, who has been involved in more than 20 Olympic ceremonies, said: “As an international guest, we have Mariah Carey singing in Italy.
“A beautiful song. She will enchant many of us – as the cherry on the cake of a beautiful Italian fantasia.
“We will make a celebration of the sense of beauty of Italy. And also celebrate the sport heavily.”
On the decision to have the American sing a tune in Italian, Balich added: “When we ask artists to come, especially musical artists, we don’t want them to come and promote their own songs or new albums.
“We want them to sing something that is pertinent.
“So, I am very thankful for Mariah Carey, she enthusiastically embraced the fact of singing an entire song in Italian, which is not that easy.
“A very well-known song – and that will touch the hearts of many Italians. Because she sings beautifully and will sing in a very, very courageous way.
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“You will see the entire stadium singing that, I promise.”
This is not the first time there has been an international flavour to opening events – Lady Gaga was the lead musician ahead of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
Italian tenor singer Andrea Bocelli is also going to perform before 16 days of competition begin on ice, snow and slopes.
The Opening Ceremony is set to be watched by a crowd of 70,000 at the football ground where AC Milan and Inter Milan play their Serie A matches.
Athletes will also march in Cortina and Livigno as the mountain clusters are too far for them to travel to Milan for one day and then return for the start of their respective competitions.
The layout will be designed with a series of catwalks with the “athletes at the centre of the action”, according to Balich, and next to the speeches made by dignitaries, such as International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry.
There will also be a special tribute to legendary fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died last September aged 91.
Before he passed away, Armani helped to design the kit for the flagbearers, who will enter the arena with the flags of all competing nations.
The weave of the cauldron will pay homage to Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian genius, who is deeply linked with the history of Milan.
There will be two Olympic cauldrons – one in the centre of Milan, the other in the mountain resort of Cortina, where the bobsleigh, skeleton and curling will take place.
Balich says the Olympic flame will be small because of the “sustainable approach” of the organisers.
The Italian creative director joked: “For the lighting of the cauldron, it will be like watching the final of the Fifa World Cup, when they are scoring the penalties.”
