Major Lazer Performs as Milan-Cortina 2026 Ends with Closing Ceremony in Verona
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics formally concluded with a closing ceremony at the Verona Olympic Arena, where popular performers included major lazer and Achille Lauro. The finale mattered not only for the cultural pageantry but because it folded two weeks of competition—116 medal events—and local unrest into a single night.
Verona Olympic Arena hosted the finale
The ceremony took place inside Verona’s ancient Roman amphitheatre, the Verona Olympic Arena, a venue built in 30 AD and cited as Italy’s third-largest Roman amphitheatre. The arena is 75 miles from Milan, about a two-hour drive from Milan and roughly three hours from Cortina d'Ampezzo. Organisers brought the "Drop of Fire, " a small glass vessel carrying the Olympic flame, into the arena to light the rings. The programme began with a tribute to classic Italian opera and used large props from Aida; a separate tribute to Italian film music accompanied the entry of flagbearers representing the 92 competing nations.
Team GB flagbearers Matt Weston and Charlotte Bankes
Matt Weston and Charlotte Bankes led Team GB into the arena. Weston won two golds at these Games, taking the men's skeleton title and a team gold in the mixed event with Tabby Stoeker (spelling unclear in the provided context). Bankes, competing in her fourth Olympics, won Team GB's first ever Winter Olympic gold on snow in the mixed snowboard cross with Huw Nightingale. Team GB finished the Games with five medals, including three golds, placing 15th in the medal table; Britain had never previously won more than one gold at a Winter Games.
Closing programme and final medals
Although athletes are meant to parade mixed together, many entered largely in national groups. The final medals of Milan-Cortina 2026 were awarded in the women's and men's 50km mass start cross-country skiing events, and the ceremony included a tribute to the Games volunteers. Performers on the night included popular Italian musicians Major Lazer and singer-songwriter Achille Lauro; organisers said the finale would "weave together" Italy's musical and artistic traditions under a theme of "Beauty in Action. "
Protests over housing costs and environmental concerns
Hours before the ceremony, hundreds marched through Verona in a rally titled "Olympics? No thanks, " organised by university groups and associations opposing the Games. Protesters said the events disrupt forests, pour concrete onto fragile land and deepen social inequality. Giannina Dal Bosco, a 76-year-old activist, said demonstrators were defending territory from speculation and the high cost of attending events. Francesca, 34, who travelled from Vicenza about 60 km away, said the landscape had been "disfigured" by new Olympic structures and called the bobsleigh track a "concrete monstrosity" that will have no future use. Several protesters wore keffiyeh scarves and waved Palestinian flags; one banner read: "Fewer Games for the few, more homes for everyone. "
Security, route and local official response
Protesters marched for around two hours outside the security perimeter, from the 16th-century Porta Palio to the 19th-century Arsenal Square, stopping briefly at the point closest to the red zone and asking to be allowed inside but being rejected. Activists painted "FIVE CIRCLES, A THOUSAND DEBTS" in large letters on the road before moving on. Verona’s mayor Damiano Tommasi said high-profile events carry the risk of people seeking visibility and trying to exploit the moment, and he defended the deployment of a heightened level of security. Organisers set ticket prices for the ceremony from 950 euros to a top level of 2, 900 euros.
Kirsty Coventry's closing remarks and wider competitive takeaways
In her closing address, International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry praised the competitors for bravery, passion and for living the Olympic spirit. She said athletes had given everything and shown values of excellence, respect and friendship. The Games produced historic sporting moments beyond Team GB: Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won the men's giant slalom, registering a first Winter Olympic gold for a South American nation. Other competitive notes included Knight holding the U. S. women's hockey record for most Olympic career goals and Bates solidifying an ice dance legacy with partner Madison Chock. Alysa Liu secured dual Olympic gold and is not ready to retire from figure skating; the 2030 Games were noted as being a long way out. Separately, an already difficult season for Tyrese Haliburton has worsened, and the tush push should make it safely into the 2026 campaign.
What makes this notable is how a single night in an ancient arena encapsulated the Olympics' dual nature: a global sporting celebration that generated both historic achievements and sharp local pushback, with heightened security and logistics shaped as much by civic concern as by pageantry.
