Classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy are among approximately 1,200 volunteers rehearsing since November for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony, scheduled for Feb. 6. The ceremony is being prepared in a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, where creative director Marco Balich is orchestrating the event. About 60,000 people are expected to attend live, including a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance, while millions will watch on official broadcasters worldwide.

The opening ceremony’s theme is ‘Harmony,’ a message Balich called especially important given global conflict. The theme reflects the Olympic Truce concept, which originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the 1990s to promote peace through sport by ceasing hostilities a week before and after the Games.

Inside a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy rehearsed Saturday the opening number of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony, scheduled for Feb. 6.

The dancers are among approximately 1,200 volunteers who have been preparing the ceremony since November, working alongside musicians, athletes, and others from Milan and the surrounding region. Marco Balich, the opening ceremony’s creative director, said the preparation is complex but rewarding.

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating journey, because you get to meet all these volunteers, dance classes, normal people,” Balich told the Associated Press during a behind-the-scenes tour of the rehearsal tent.

The volunteers represent a cross-section of the community. Balich’s group includes his butcher, the head of his office, and an 88-year-old widow, all working without pay to create what organizers hope will be a memorable moment for Italy and a global audience.

Approximately 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro. Millions more will watch on official broadcasters worldwide.

The Ceremony’s Message

The opening ceremony’s theme is Harmony, a concept Balich emphasized holds particular significance at a moment when global violence has left populations from Ukraine to Gaza to Iran exposed to conflict.

“In this moment, where forces and bullies are predominant, I think it’s very important for all of us to embrace the values that the Olympics represents, which is to compete respectfully and peacefully between all the countries and nations, summarized in the title ‘Harmony,’” Balich said.

The theme echoes the Olympic Truce, a concept originating in ancient Greece that was revived by Olympic officials in the 1990s. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which will close March 15.

Ceremony Scale and Structure

The opening ceremony will feature performances by pop star Mariah Carey, tenor Andrea Bocelli, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Italian singer Laura Pausini, and pianist Lang Lang. The ceremony will also include the traditional Olympic protocol moments: the unveiling of the Olympic rings, the parade of athletes, and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

For 2026, organizers are lighting two cauldrons, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s geometric studies. One will be located in Milan at the Arco della Pace, approximately four kilometers from San Siro. The other will be in Cortina, about 400 kilometers away. Maria Laura Iascone, director of ceremonies, said organizers plan to use “Olympic magic” to transfer the flame over the final legs given the extraordinary distances involved.

The 2026 Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic history, with venues near the Swiss and Austrian borders. To accommodate athletes across these distances, the Parade of Athletes will be beamed in from three additional venues beyond San Siro.

Balich, who has produced a record 16 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies including the 2006 Turin opening ceremony, said the ceremony will highlight Italian excellence and creativity, including a nod to Milan’s role as a fashion capital. Some surprise elements remain unrevealed.

Preparation and Logistics

Over the next two weeks from Jan. 24, rehearsals will increase to approximately nine hours per day in pursuit of what organizers call an “Olympic emotion.”

The rehearsal tent houses far more than just the mock stage. It contains a wardrobe room with 1,400 costumes in bright, broadcast-friendly tones, along with a corner staffed by seamstresses and tailors making final adjustments. A sign on the entrance tells performers: “Your Happy Moment Starts Now! Welcome!”

Fostis Siadimas, one of the volunteer performers, is working his second Olympic opening ceremony. He participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in his native Athens at age 20. Now an amateur dancer living in Milan, he answered the casting call eagerly.

“The last few moments before entering the stadium, it’s an experience, one of the best of my life, ever,” Siadimas said.