Opening Ceremony Celebrates Italian Culture, Peace, Diversity; Has Novel Features

The opening ceremony for the first "widely distributed game," was a mix of the traditional and the new, but mainly following the traditional formula - show - athletes- speechifying - flags - the flame and more show, all topped off with a few fireworks.

This Games the past audience participation kits were not provided, and instead each spectator got an led wristband that was remotely controlled by the show's producers.  Billing itself as the most sustainable Olympics, spectators were asked to drop off the wristbands upon exiting the arena for recycling.

An homage to classical culture.

Giant tubes of paint color the ceremony.

Dead Italian composers with giant heads are part of the show.

Mariah Carey is one of the few non-Italian artists performing.

A big pile of dancers.

A message of peace, a unifying thread of the ceremony.

Bringing in the Italian flag.

The rings are assembled mid-air in the arena.

Two brave performers!

More of the show.

Entry of the athletes.

With the venues split among widely separate cities, some athletes marched in the arena, some in the mountain venues.  If no athletes were competing in Milan only a placard holder marched in the area.  Those marching in the satellite opening ceremonies were shown on video boards in the arena. This was a first.

The U.S. team had athletes in both Milan and the mountains.

When The U.S. team entered the arena there was mostly warm cheering, but also a few whistles of disapproval.  As they got halfway to the athlete seating area the arena erupted in jeering an whistling, a response to vice president Vance being shown on the video boars.

The reaction to each country was a clear show of the audience's opinion of each country's reputation.  Noteworthy examples include thunderous cheering for Ukraine and thunderous disapproval for Israel.

It wouldn't be an opening ceremony without speechifying.

Entry of the Olympic flag.

Cecilia Bartoli sings the Olympic anthem as the flag is raised.

Not shown in this slideshow, Andrea Bocelli performed later in the ceremony, singing Nessun Dorma.  In Turin in 2006, Luciano Pavarotti in his last public appearance also performed this aria - though afterwards it was learned it was a lip synch to a recoding made prior to the games.

The flame arrives in the arena.

But it was not to stay.  No cauldron was lit in the arena.  Instead the flame was taken to the Arco della Pace.

The lighting at the arch was shown on video boards in the arena.

More show.

Ceremony closes with a few more in-the-arena fireworks.