Lead
On Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, the closing ceremony for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics began in Verona’s ancient Roman Arena, a night built around Italian music, dance and opera. Organizers expected roughly 1,500 athletes and about 12,000 spectators to attend the more intimate finale, which spotlights performers such as ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, singer Achille Lauro and DJ Gaby Ponte. Earlier the same day the United States defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime for men’s hockey gold, with Jack Hughes scoring 1 minute, 41 seconds into extra time. A ceremonial handover of the Olympic flag to France and a symbolic raising of the French flag were scheduled as part of the program.
Key takeaways
- The U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the men’s hockey final; Jack Hughes scored the sudden-death winner 1:41 into the overtime period.
- Italy finished the Games with 30 medals (10 gold, 6 silver, 14 bronze), its best Winter Olympics haul; the previous record was 20 medals in 1994 Lillehammer.
- The closing ceremony is expected to include about 1,500 Olympians and roughly 12,000 spectators inside Verona’s Roman Arena, much smaller than the 60,000-plus opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro.
- The flame that lit the Milan and Cortina cauldrons completed a nearly 12,000-kilometer relay and entered the arena in a vessel made by a Venetian glassmaker, escorted by three members of Italy’s 1994 gold-winning cross-country relay team.
- The ceremony’s stage design — inspired by a drop of water — intentionally references the Po River Valley and the Games’ vulnerability to climate change.
- Volunteers numbered about 18,000 across the sprawling Games venues, and the Roman Arena will also host the Paralympic opening ceremony on March 6.
- Mascots Milo and Tina proved unexpectedly popular; official shops in the host cities sold out of plushes early in the Games.
Background
The 2026 Winter Olympics were staged across multiple northern Italian venues, with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo as principal hosts. Verona’s historic Roman Arena, built in the first century and famed for large-scale opera productions, was selected for the closing ceremony to blend Italy’s cultural heritage with the theatricality expected of Olympic finales. Italy has previously hosted Winter Games in Cortina (1956) and Turin (2006) and hosted the Summer Olympics in Rome in 1960; the country’s performance this year — 30 medals in total — represents a national best.
Hockey at these Games returned to a format that included top professional players, a factor observers said raised competitive intensity and global interest. Olympic hockey history highlights contrasting legacies: Canada has won nine men’s Olympic titles, while the United States now has three (1960, 1980 and 2026). The Milan Cortina Games also emphasized environmental messaging, reflected in stage imagery and several programming choices meant to illustrate how warming winters are reshaping winter sport planning.
Main event
The ceremony opened with the emblematic flame — the same fire that lit the two Olympic cauldrons — brought into the Arena in a specially crafted Venetian glass container and escorted by three members of Italy’s 1994 4x10km relay gold team. Performances mixed contemporary and classical Italian music and dance, and organizers placed the figure of Rigoletto — Verdi’s jester — at the center of the evening’s narrative, weaving opera references through modern staging.
Athletes began to enter the Arena under considerably calmer conditions than the opening ceremony: organizers anticipated roughly 1,500 competitors, a little more than half of those who attended the Games overall. Security and logistics included police escorts in places where the athlete buses faced heavy traffic; American luger Sophia Kirkby posted footage showing such an escort navigating congestion en route to Verona.
Key moments included the official handover of the Olympic flag to France, which will host the next Winter Games, and the raising of the French flag beside Italy’s and Greece’s national banners. The evening also showcased Italian popular acts — including Achille Lauro and DJ Gaby Ponte — alongside internationally known ballet star Roberto Bolle, tying athletic movement to Italy’s performing-arts traditions.
Analysis & implications
Italy’s 30-medal performance signals both home-field advantage and growth in several winter disciplines; the 10 golds represent concentrated excellence and a boost for national sport programs. Host-nation success typically translates into short-term tourism and longer-term investment in facilities, but those gains can be tempered by maintenance costs and the seasonal nature of winter venues. Verona’s use of an ancient open-air arena demonstrates a cultural framing for the Olympics that can deepen public engagement but also raises questions about weather exposure in an era of increasingly variable winter conditions.
The U.S. hockey title has symbolic and practical implications. On a symbolic level, the victory — the first U.S. men’s gold since 1980 — revives a storied narrative in American hockey history. Practically, the competitive return of top professional players to the Olympic stage may accelerate discussions about scheduling, player availability and how national federations prepare rosters for future Games. Television ratings, sponsorship interest and grassroots participation often rise after high-profile successes, especially in markets where Olympic hockey had been dormant at the top level.
The ceremony’s environmental motif — a stage shaped like a drop of water linking alpine venues to the Po Valley — is more than theatrical. It reiterates an operational challenge: warming winters are already forcing adjustments to venue siting, snowmaking, and the long-term viability of alpine resorts. Host cities and the IOC increasingly face pressure to demonstrate credible climate mitigation and legacy plans as part of Olympic bids and delivery.
Comparison & data
| Category | 2026 Milan Cortina | Previous Italy best (1994) |
|---|---|---|
| Total medals (Italy) | 30 | 20 |
| Gold medals (Italy) | 10 | — |
| Men’s hockey Olympic golds (all-time) | U.S. 3, Canada 9 | — |
The table highlights Italy’s leap from a 20-medal high in 1994 to 30 medals in 2026, driven by multiple podium finishes across alpine and ice sports. The hockey column summarizes long-term Olympic success by nation: Canada remains the most-decorated men’s hockey nation, while the U.S. has reached three all-time titles with the 2026 win.
Reactions & quotes
The closing ceremony and the hockey final drew a range of public and official responses, from jubilant celebration to reflective commentary about the Games’ legacy.
“Lucky for us, the local police are helping us out with an escort,”
Sophia Kirkby (luge athlete, Instagram)
Kirkby’s posted video showed an athlete bus moving through heavy traffic behind a police car, a small operational detail that underlines the scale of city logistics when moving competitors between venues and ceremonies.
“They won the gold,”
Donald Trump (U.S. President, Truth Social)
The U.S. president publicly congratulated the American men’s hockey team after the victory; the team’s coach also reportedly received a congratulatory FaceTime from the president. The public statement added a political note to a broadly celebratory sports moment.
“I went to Cortina out of a sudden desire to do something out of the ordinary,”
Mario Gargiulo (89, volunteer)
Gargiulo — an 89-year-old volunteer dubbed the “King of the Volunteers” — reflected on a lifelong connection to Italy’s winter sport tradition; he is one of many volunteers whose local knowledge and continuity helped stage the dispersed Games.
Unconfirmed
- Details about any organized protest observed near the arena were being monitored by reporters on site; specific groups, organizers or motives had not been fully confirmed at press time.
- Final attendance figures for the ceremony were estimates provided by organizers; official turnstile-verified numbers had not yet been published.
Bottom line
The Verona closing ceremony capped a sprawling, multi-site Winter Olympics that combined Italy’s cultural pageantry with high-stakes sport: the same day saw the U.S. reclaim men’s hockey gold while host-nation Italy enjoyed its most successful Winter Games ever. The program balanced celebration with pointed symbolism about climate change, using the Arena’s historic stage to underline both continuity and the contemporary challenges facing winter sport.
Looking ahead, the handover to France sets expectations for how the next Winter Games will respond to lessons from Milan Cortina: tighter legacy planning, stronger climate adaptation measures and a continued negotiation over elite-player participation in Olympic hockey. For athletes and host communities, the immediate aftermath will focus on Paralympic preparations in Verona and legacy delivery in venues across northern Italy.