Opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, San Siro Stadium in Milan, February 6, 2026. Credit: David J. Phillip / AP / Profimedia
The 2026 edition of the Winter Olympics is being held in Italy in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo and was officially opened with a ceremony at the San Siro Stadium on Friday evening.
The competition runs from February 6-22 and brings together approximately 2,900 athletes from 92 delegations, who will compete in a total of 116 events on ice and snow, in eight sports and 16 sports disciplines, according to Agerpres.
The theme of the opening ceremony is “harmony”. Smaller events were also held at the other Olympic sites, at Livigno, Predazzo and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
It is the third time in history that the Winter Olympics have been held in Italy, after the editions held in Cortina d'Ampezzo (26 January and 5 February 1956) and in Turin (10-26 February 2006).
For the current president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, it is the first edition of the Olympic Games in office. She took over the leadership of the forum on June 23, 2025.
Romania is represented at the 2026 Winter Olympics by 29 athletes (28 starters and one reserve), accompanied by the technical teams, according to the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee (COSR).
The seven flag bearers of Romania are: Julia Sauter (figure skating) – Milan, Kata Mandel (snowboard) and Alexandru Ștefănescu (alpine skiing) – Livigno, Daniela Toth (ski jumping) and Paul Pepene (cross-country skiing) – Predazzo, Raluca Strămăturaru (sledge) and Mihai Tentea (bob) – Cortina d'Ampezzo.
“For Team Romania, the parade is more than an Olympic protocol – it is the confirmation that the dream of getting here has been followed to the end. A moment of silence before the start, where emotion meets determination,” said COSR, Friday evening, in a post on Facebook.
Romania has only one Olympic medal at the Winter Games. It is about the bronze obtained by the two-person bobsleigh team made up of Ion Panțuru and Nicolae Neagoe, in 1968, in Grenoble.
