Winter Olympics closing ceremony celebrates athletes, Italian art at ancient Roman amphitheater
CBSN
The Milan Cortina Olympics ended Sunday with a closing ceremony inside Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater that sits roughly mid-distance between the far-flung mountain, valley and city venues that made these the most spread-out Winter Games in Olympic history. In:
The Milan Cortina Olympics ended Sunday with a closing ceremony inside Verona Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater that sits roughly mid-distance between the far-flung mountain, valley and city venues that made these the most spread-out Winter Games in Olympic history.
The 2½-hour ceremony celebrated Italian music and dance, both classic and contemporary, headlining internationally acclaimed ballet dancer Roberto Bolle along with popular Italian singer Achille Lauro and DJ Gabry Ponte.
Some 1,500 Olympians, a bit over half those who competed in the Games, paraded into the monument built in the first century for gladiator fights and exotic animal hunts.
They entered en masse behind a pair of flag bearers from each of the 92 participating nations, including biathlete Lisa Vittozzi and speedskater Davide Ghiotto for host Italy, and hockey player Hilary Knight and ice dancer Evan Bates for the United States – all gold medal winners.
The United States fielded its biggest Winter Olympics team ever for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, with 232 athletes competing, and broke the record for Team USA's most gold medals at a single Winter Games. The U.S. was one of only two nations to compete in all 16 sport disciplines, along with host Italy, according to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.
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