Francesca Lollobrigida joined the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic in Los Angeles alongside the Italian Consulate General.

A special initiative designed to celebrate the Italian Republic in the United States through the power of the universal values embodied by sport.

At the invitation of Consul General Raffaella Valentini, the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Republic with a major event hosted at the iconic Memorial Coliseum. The occasion also provided an opportunity to symbolically join the National Day of Sport, scheduled to take place on Sunday 7 June.

The participation of Olympic champion Francesca Lollobrigida, gold medallist in the 3,000m and 5,000m speed skating events at the most recent Winter Olympic Games, was among the most significant moments of the celebration. Her presence reaffirmed the strong connection between sport, institutions and public diplomacy along the pathway linking Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028.

At the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will make history by becoming the first venue to host three editions of the Olympic Games (1932, 1984 and 2028), Francesca Lollobrigida took part in the evocative ceremony alongside Consul General Raffaella Valentini and institutional representatives. The event represented a highly symbolic moment dedicated to the passing of the Olympic baton between the most recent Games hosted in Italy and the forthcoming Summer Games that will be staged in the United States.

The Olympian also joined a walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where she paid tribute to the presence and contribution of Italians in Hollywood throughout the history of the American film industry. This legacy is symbolically represented by the star dedicated to actress Gina Lollobrigida, of whom Francesca is the great-grandniece.

The mission also included a visit to the headquarters of the LA28 Organising Committee, providing an opportunity to discuss preparations for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to explore potential areas of collaboration between Italy and the United States in the fields of sport, youth development and the promotion of Olympic values.

The celebrations of Republic Day and the Tricolour Day of Sport in Los Angeles provided a high-profile platform for promoting Italy’s contemporary image abroad. This was made possible through the close cooperation between the Consulate General and CONI, also through the Italia Team dimension, which continues to highlight the role of sport as a universal language of dialogue and international cooperation.