Italy’s Farewell in Verona: Olympic Closing Ceremony Seals Milan Cortina Games and Hands Flag to France
The Olympic Closing Ceremony in Verona drew the Milan Cortina Winter Games to a close inside the ancient Arena, extinguishing the twin flames in co-host cities Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo and formally handing the Olympic flag to France. The ceremony capped 17 days of competition that set several records and turned the spotlight toward the 2026 Paralympics and the 2030 French Alps program.
Olympic Closing Ceremony in Verona Arena
The 2½-hour ceremony staged in Verona’s Roman amphitheater combined a formal handover with a cultural farewell. International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry told local organizers they had delivered "a new kind of winter Games" and set "a new, very high standard for the future, " and she awarded the 50-kilometer mass start men's and women's cross-country medals inside the Arena after the final events wrapped up just hours earlier.
The Olympic flame — encased in a Venetian glass vessel — was carried into the Arena by Italian gold medalists from the 1994 Lillehammer Games, and the Olympic flag was handed off to the French delegation, signaling that the next Winter Games will be staged in neighboring France.
Italy’s Medal Record and National Reaction
Host Italy finished with its highest Winter Olympic medal tally ever: 30 medals in total, comprising 10 gold, six silver and 14 bronze, surpassing the previous national record of 20 set at Lillehammer in 1994. Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan Cortina Foundation, told the Italian athletes — many wearing headbands emblazoned with "Italia" — that their outstanding performance united Italians everywhere and played a fundamental role in the success of the Games.
Team USA, Klæbo and Notable Results
Team USA left Verona with 33 medals. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo emerged as the most decorated gold medalist at a single Winter Olympics with six wins at Milan Cortina. Klæbo, Norway’s flag bearer in the closing ceremony, said he had been iffy about racing in the 50-kilometer classic because of a sore throat but chose to compete and “give it my all. ” He described the experience as a dream, noting he had no words for winning six times, and added, “I’m super satisfied for sure, but I’m also super tired. ” His signature uphill sprint helped him win every race he started at these Games.
P. K. Subban discussed the impact of Sidney Crosby’s absence after Canada’s gold medal loss to Team USA, a conversation that followed the podium results and stirred discussion among fans and commentators.
Ceremony Staging: Opera, Dance and Pop
The production paid explicit tribute to Italian performing arts. It opened with a whimsical salute to lyric opera: Madama Butterfly, in bright pink and green, and Aida, in golden tiers, were unpacked from mirrored crates while 17th-century musicians performed "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from La Traviata as a nod to the Arena’s longstanding summer festival history. Opera characters, led by the jester Rigoletto, spilled into the piazza and mixed with bemused athletes, some of whom filmed the scene on their phones.
Ballet star Roberto Bolle made his first-ever aerial performance inside a blazing ring meant to represent the sun, lowered onto a stage designed to mimic the Venetian lagoon with gondolas and dancing to a haunting song by Joan Thiele. Italian DJs and pop artists closed the night: Gabry Ponte got roughly 1, 500 athletes on their feet as color confetti exploded across the stage, and Achille Lauro delivered the final number, "Incoscienti Giovani. " The sequence combined tradition and contemporary pop to mark the Games’ end.
Looking Ahead: Paralympics, Accessibility and 2030 Plans
The Arena will transform again on March 6 for the opening of the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Organizers invested 20 million euros to enhance accessibility throughout Verona, aiming to ensure an inclusive experience for all. The Paralympic theme, "Life in Motion, " is described on the Olympics website as "a tribute to life as change and transformation, inspired by the language of art and its unique ability to interpret the ever-changing contemporary reality, " and as "an approach that redefines the concept of disability through a new harmony between people and environment. "
With the Olympic flag now in French hands, eyes turn to 2030. Edgar Grospiron, president of the organizing committee for the 2030 French Alps Winter Olympics, said at a news conference that his team knows there is little time and little money because of financial constraints, but that they are confident they can deliver and will follow the recommendations and choices made by the IOC. Plans call for events across the Alps and Nice on the Mediterranean Sea, with speedskating to be held either in Italy or the Netherlands.
What makes this notable is the Games’ dispersed model — events staged across mountain, valley and city venues — which organizers said influenced both the logistical complexity and the cultural programming. The timing matters because the closing ceremony closed not only a fortnight of competition but also pivoted the Arena and the host community immediately toward the Paralympics and a handoff to the next hosts.
