VERONA, Italy — World-famous ballet star Roberto Bolle will lead the ceremony. 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina Organizers announced Thursday that the closing ceremony, titled “Beauty in Motion,” will take place at Verona's ancient Roman amphitheater, one of the oldest in the world.
The final event on February 22 will pay tribute to the city of Verona, which is UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the Arena's role as home to a renowned summer opera festival that simultaneously celebrates sporting excellence and addresses climate change, said Alfredo Accatino, artistic director of the closing ceremony.
“If the climate continues to change, there will be no more Winter Olympics,” Accatino lamented.
According to Accatino, the nearly 2,000-year-old Arena's central stage will be shaped like a drop of water, symbolically linking the mountainous grounds with the fertile Po Valley, where Milan and Verona are located, and the Venetian lagoon.
Bolle, who performed at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, has become a familiar sight at the Arena, where he comes every summer for his annual gala, Roberto Bolle and Friends. At the moment he is the only declared talent.
The 2026 Winter Games (6-22 February) will be the first to feature two official host cities: Milan in Lombardy and Cortina in the Veneto Dolomites. opening and the closing ceremonies will also take place in two different cities: Milan and Verona.
The addition of Verona, an elegant city with cobblestone streets set along the winding Adige River and with a backdrop of pre-Alpine mountains, caused excitement among delegations more accustomed to sports venues, said Giovanni Malago, president of the local organizing committee of the Milan Cortina Foundation.
“It will be a great advertisement for Verona,” Malago said. “It's obvious that the atmosphere will be completely different from that of a sports stadium. A lot of curious people come here.”
Centrally located among the sprawling Olympic venues, Verona will be a base for many Olympic visitors rather than just the site of the closing ceremony on February 22, Mayor Damiano Tommasi said, citing hotel booking trends.
Verona is about an hour and 15 minutes by train from Milan, home of ice sports, and just over three hours by car to Bormio, home of the men's downhill, and about the same to Cortina, home of the women's downhill, curling and bobsled.
Organizers said they have not yet decided on the number of tickets that will be sold for the closing ceremony. The Arena di Verona usually seats around 15,000 spectators during the opera season, but the closing ceremony capacity will be smaller as the central stage will be expanded and many seats are reserved for athletes and official delegations.
