"The Olympics Opening Ceremony is one of the most inspiring events in all of sports. Thousands of athletes from every country in the world gather into one stadium to welcome (hppefully) a peaceful competition that will seek to test the limits of the human body and celebrate the very best on Earth. It doesn't matter where you're from, or what political nonsense is being thrown from one country to another outside of the Games."
"Paris pulled off the first outdoor variation of the Opening Ceremony two years ago when everyone arrived by boat. A man dressed up like the guy from Assassin's Creed parkoured around the city's rooftops, and the final ceremony took place under the Eiffel Tower. At the time, it was ... odd. But Paris unknowingly started a new trend, which was that the athletes would no longer be in the same place at the same time."
"Even though Milan Cortina 2026's opening dance number informed us that the theme this year is "Harmony," our competitors were scattered across ceremonies throughout Northern Italy, including Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Predazzo. The participants, separated into small groups in each of the four locations, did not enter in a massive parade. Instead, they arrived through golden rings as if they were Marvel superheroes accidentally thrust into an unfamiliar new dimension."
The Olympics Opening Ceremony brings together thousands of athletes worldwide to celebrate sport, camaraderie, and peak human performance. Recent ceremonies have shifted toward theatrical, outdoor and decentralized formats, exemplified by Paris’s boat arrival and rooftop performances and by Milan Cortina 2026’s ceremonies staged across Milan, Cortina, Livigno, and Predazzo. Milan Cortina emphasized 'Harmony' while delegations entered in small groups rather than a single parade, using dramatic entrances like golden rings. The Opening Ceremony mixed surreal spectacle and local culture with giant composer bobbleheads, cascading dancers, Mariah Carey singing 'Volare', and unexpected celebrity cameos including Snoop Dogg alongside the Jamaican bobsled team.
Read at Esquire
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