Major Lazer Reference Appears Unclear as Italy Throws Farewell Party, Passes Olympic Torch to France
The Milan Cortina Winter Games concluded in Verona with a 2½-hour closing ceremony inside the ancient Verona Arena, and Major Lazer is not mentioned in the provided context. The ceremony, coming just hours after the final races, matters now because organizers formalized a handover of the Olympic flag to France and underscored a new, spread-out model for future Winter Games.
Verona Arena extinguishes twin flames as Games wrap
The closing sequence in the Verona Arena extinguished the twin Olympic flames that had burned in co-host cities Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, bringing to an end what organizers described as the most spread-out Winter Games ever. Final events had ended only hours before the ceremony, which allowed International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry to present the 50-kilometer mass start men's and women's cross-country medals inside the amphitheater.
Kirsty Coventry hands Olympic flag to France
Kirsty Coventry praised the local organizers, saying they "delivered a new kind of winter Games and you set a new, very high standard for the future. " In the formal handover during the ceremony, the Olympic flag was passed to neighboring France, which will stage the next Winter Games using a similar spread-out model. The 2030 plan will place events in the Alps and in Nice on the Mediterranean Sea, while speedskating will be held either in Italy or the Netherlands.
Competition scale: 116 events over 17 days
The Games featured a total of 116 medal events across eight Olympic sports and 16 disciplines, held over 17 days, and included the debut of ski mountaineering. The compressed schedule — with final medals decided hours before the closing program — directly led to the rare moment of Coventry presenting endurance medals inside the Arena rather than at a separate venue.
Italy sets record with 30 medals; Giovanni Malagò praises athletes
Host Italy recorded its highest Winter Olympic tally ever with 30 medals: 10 gold, six silver and 14 bronze, surpassing the previous record of 20 medals set at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994. Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan Cortina Foundation, addressed the Italian athletes, who wore headbands emblazoned with "Italia, " saying their performances "united Italians everywhere and played a fundamental role in the success of the games. " What makes this notable is how a host-nation surge contributed to both national celebration and the Games' broader narrative of local engagement.
Gabry Ponte, Achille Lauro and 1, 500 athletes animate the closing
The closing ceremony paid tribute to Italian music and dance across eras. DJ Gabry Ponte energized the crowd and got roughly 1, 500 athletes on their feet as color confetti exploded on stage. Italian performer Achille Lauro delivered the ceremony's final song, "Incoscienti Giovani, " which played just before the athletes filed out of the Arena.
Opera characters, Rigoletto and a Venetian lagoon on stage
The 2½-hour program opened with a whimsical salute to Italian lyric opera: long-dormant opera characters were stored in mirrored crates in the amphitheater's tunnels and were unpacked on stage, including Madama Butterfly in a bright pink-and-green costume and Aida in golden tiers. Seventeenth-century musicians performed the joyous "Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from "La Traviata, " a nod to the Arena's longstanding role as a summer opera venue. Led by the jester Rigoletto, the opera figures spilled into the piazza and mingled with bemused flag-bearing athletes, some of whom filmed the moment on their phones.
Roberto Bolle's first aerial performance to Joan Thiele's song
Internationally acclaimed ballet dancer Roberto Bolle made his first-ever aerial performance inside a blazing ring meant to represent the sun. He was lowered onto a stage that evoked a Venetian lagoon, complete with gondolas, and danced to a haunting song by Italian singer Joan Thiele, forming one of the evening's visual highlights.
P. K. Subban on Sidney Crosby and Canada's loss to Team USA
Outside the ceremony narrative, P. K. Subban discussed the impact of Sidney Crosby's absence following Canada's gold-medal loss to Team USA. Details of Subban's remarks were brief in the provided context, and further specifics are unclear in the provided context.
Major Lazer — unclear in the provided context
The name Major Lazer appears in the article headline requirement but is not tied to any confirmed role or appearance in the closing ceremony as described here; Major Lazer's involvement is unclear in the provided context. The timing matters because the ceremony blended last-minute sport results with a staged cultural handover, leaving little room to confirm outside musical or guest contributions within the available details.
