On the evening of Monday 2 February, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the 145th Session of the International Olympic Committee was inaugurated in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. The Head of State, accompanied by IOC President Kirsty Coventry, was welcomed by the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, and the Superintendent and Artistic Director of Teatro alla Scala, Fortunato Ortombina, and received greetings from the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana, and the Deputy President of the Senate, Licia Ronzulli. CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio attended the ceremony (photo Ferdinando Mezzelani/CONI), together with the General Secretary and Chef de Mission of the Italia Team for the imminent Winter Olympic Games, Carlo Mornati. Also among those present were the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, and the President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, Giovanni Malagò.

After the performance of the Olympic Anthem and the Italian national anthem by the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra conducted by Maestro Riccardo Chailly, CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio was the first to speak: “Mr President of the Republic, Madam President of the IOC, dear friends, this is the fourth time Italy has been called upon to host the Olympic Games. The previous editions — Cortina 1956, Rome 1960 and Turin 2006 — have represented significant milestones in Olympic history, demonstrating our capacity for hospitality, friendship, fraternity and, last but not least, our organisational ability. The founder of Olympism, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, maintained that ‘To host the Olympic Games means to evoke history’. And as we come here, to Teatro alla Scala, one of the world’s oldest, most iconic and prestigious opera houses, in a place steeped in history, we cannot forget that the Olympic Games are children of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece: a union of contests and music, where athletic performances were integrated with lyrical and theatrical elements, where the epinicion was the lyric chant celebrating winning athletes. The bond between opera and sport therefore has almost three thousand years of life. History is not simply remembrance: it is living. Living daily life, which constantly places new challenges and new emergencies before us, to which sport can provide unique, meaningful and important answers. Sport is the beacon of excellence and unity, where the ancient Olympic Truce required states at war to set conflicts aside in the name of peace and fair competition. Sadly, current events instead envelop us in uncertainty, but the Olympic Movement must stand as an eternal beacon of peace, unity and boundless humanity. Once again, as the Holy Father has reminded us, we too underline that sport can build bridges where others raise barriers; and yet, as we have seen in recent days, amid the most varied turbulence, the Olympic Flame does not tremble — rather, ever brighter, it invites us to embrace, to unite and not to divide. Sport must promote, with ever greater commitment, the universality of its values and inspire younger generations towards a better future, with lifestyles that encourage respect, inclusion and resilience. This is the fourth time Italy has hosted the Games, but the first time that an Olympian stands at the head of CONI. For me, beyond being an honour, it is also a responsibility towards all athletes. To them I will dedicate my work as President; with them I will engage concretely to build models that inspire younger generations to approach their growth with commitment, determination, competence, passion and enthusiasm. Athletes are therefore the fulcrum of the Olympic Movement. Everything revolves around them. And we must ensure that every initiative, every decision, every project places the athlete at its centre, committing ourselves to them and emphasising the values I have just expressed. Only in this way can we evolve, improve and achieve new successes for a global sport that guarantees a winning and unified future for Olympism. We are a family: the Olympic Family. Peace and harmony are indispensable elements of our activity. The Olympic Games are not only a global sporting event but a powerful force that can influence and affect the world’s balance, overcoming divisions and restoring respect for the vulnerable. I conclude with one of the most significant lines of the Olympic Anthem we have just heard: ‘May all the flags of every land unfold in brotherhood’. ‘Arkaeo Pneuma Athanato’ and may the eternal Olympic Flame illuminate our path forever. Welcome to Milan. Welcome to Italy. Welcome, everyone”.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry described her presence at today’s ceremony as “a profound emotion just days before the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games”, then offered “a heartfelt thank you to Italy for such a warm welcome in this magnificent place: Teatro alla Scala. From this stage, generations of artists, opera singers and musicians have inspired their audiences through artistic excellence, beauty and emotion. La Scala represents the Italian spirit: a deep love of the arts and of life, of human creativity, of the harmonious fusion of tradition and innovation. It is the same spirit that will now welcome the world’s best winter athletes, preparing to realise their Olympic dream.” “On behalf of the athletes and the entire Olympic community,” Coventry added, “I therefore wish to express our most sincere thanks and our profound gratitude to all of you: to President Mattarella, to Prime Minister Meloni and to all regional authorities, to the mayors and host communities. A special thank you goes to the Organising Committee and to President Malagò for the constant commitment and ambition shown. We are immensely grateful for your collaboration: Milano Cortina 2026 is truly a collective effort. To paraphrase an African saying: it takes an entire Olympic Village to make an athlete’s dream come true. Thanks to everyone’s contribution, athletes will be able to shine on a magnificent Olympic stage, inspiring the world with their excellence, their artistry, their beauty and emotion. Thank you for making all of this possible — thank you, Italy. Milano Cortina will be a new kind of Winter Games: it will bring athletes and fans to places where winter sports are part of daily life; it will showcase existing world-class venues; it will unite tradition and innovation. These will be Games in which gender equality reaches new milestones and iconic landscapes become the stage for human excellence. Thanks to this pioneering work, Italy is not merely hosting the next Winter Games: you are setting a new standard for the Games of the future. And that is a source of great pride. For me, personally, these are the first Winter Olympic Games of my presidential term — and I could not be more excited to be in Italy. Because Italy embodies passion like no other country: a passion expressed through art, sport, innovation and tradition, through a boundless joy of living. This passion — this unmistakable Italian spirit — will be the heartbeat of Milano Cortina 2026. Let us celebrate together, this evening, this moment — the beginning of a new chapter in Olympic history, written with authentic Italian spirit and passion. Thank you very much, Italy”.

Subsequently, the President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, Giovanni Malagò, spoke, describing Teatro alla Scala as “a global symbol of excellence, music and art, a monument where the universal language rises above every barrier and speaks to people from every part of the world. Milano Cortina 2026 is a global event capable of promoting sport, its values, its abilities unique in uniting people; it is an extraordinary showcase to display Italy’s excellence, its culture, its art, its landscapes, its quality of life, its heart, its craftsmanship and its long tradition of hospitality. Milano Cortina 2026 is an edition that looks to the future: two cities, two regions, two autonomous provinces, a rich mosaic of people, cultures and languages. Italy is aware that these Olympic Games coincide with one of the most difficult moments in recent world history. This makes the message of peace, fraternity and fair competition conveyed by the athletes and the Olympic family even more significant and important, resonating powerfully in every corner of the world”.

Finally, as protocol dictates, President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella was the last to speak, opening the Session: “Mr President of CONI, Members of the International Olympic Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen gathered for this important ceremony, I am pleased to welcome you to Italy, to Milan, on the eve of the opening of the Winter Olympics. The Games are a universal sporting event and Italy is happy to welcome the many athletes, coaches, technicians and spectators who will come together from every part of the world to watch the competitions. We feel the responsibility and we have approached the commitments of preparation with passion. We consider hospitality a characteristic feature of Italian identity, as President Coventry kindly said, whom I wish to thank. Italy, as President Buonfiglio recalled, is hosting its fourth Olympics as an organising country. We will deploy every effort to ensure that the time spent during the competitions is pleasant, and we aim to offer, with friendship and cordiality, the opportunity to admire our mountains and the cities that will host the events, as well as to discover other places rich in history and beauty. The Olympic Games are an opportunity for encounter and knowledge, as President Malagò recalled. Athletes, technicians and officials from over 90 countries come together in an occasion that is not limited to the sporting dimension, but is a great global event that sends a message to our difficult times. Wars, fractures in the serenity of international life, imbalances and suffering bring darkness and wound the consciences of peoples. Sport welcomes, with light, joy, passion and hope, expressing respect for others, a challenge to one’s limits and the freedom to progress. Sport is a meeting of peace and bears witness to fraternity and the loyalty of competition with others, and it is the opposite of a world where barriers and incomprehension prevail; it stands against violence which, whoever practises it, generates further violence, tramples human dignity, oppresses peoples and causes their quality of life to regress. We ask with stubborn determination that the Olympic Truce be respected everywhere and that the unarmed strength of sport silence weapons. Sport is a great force in the world of global communications; the Games are an engaging instrument in the world of global communications to call for peace and mutual understanding. We must be the peace we wish to see in the world, Martin Luther King used to say. From Milan to Cortina, from Bormio to Livigno, from Antholz to Val di Fiemme, from Verona — which will host the Paralympic Opening Ceremony — sport will present itself as a vehicle for this hope, which unites peoples of all continents. The Olympic values of loyalty, inclusion and fraternity are values that the Italian Republic has embraced since its foundation. I thank the International Olympic Committee because it continues to develop worldwide this experience of encounter, passion, education and shared culture. I thank the athletes because their dream is contagious and beneficial and they are an example for young people across the world. Many girls and boys, after following the Games, will take up sport. I wish all of you — sports officials, athletes, technicians, spectators — to be moved, and to pass on the passion that can already be felt in this enchanting theatre, where we sense the precious threads that bind music and sport. Italy wishes you a good, happy and unforgettable Olympics. I declare open the 145th Session of the International Olympic Committee”.