History will be made at the 2026 Olympic Games in Cortina, Milan. During Friday’s opening ceremony, the Olympic cauldron will be used to light two separate cauldrons, a first in the event’s history.
The lighting will take place simultaneously in two different locations. One of them is located at the Arco della Pace in Milan. The second one is located in Piazza di Bona in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Olympic organizers decided to use two cauldrons to demonstrate harmony and unity among the host cities for the 2026 Games.
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The cauldrons are intended to recall the work of Leonardo da Vinci, particularly the knots that appear in his paintings and manuscripts.
While Olympic organizers have not announced a specific time for the lighting of the flame, it is likely to happen toward the end of the opening ceremony, which will begin at 2 p.m. ET and last about three hours. This should result in the cauldron being lit in the final 30-45 minutes of Friday’s opening ceremony.
On February 1, 2026, an installation believed to be the Olympic cauldron stood at the Arch of Peace in Milan, Italy. The opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games will be held on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
(Maja Hitij via Getty Images)
Who will light the Olympic cauldron?
Olympic organizers prefer to keep details of the opening ceremony secret, so there was no official announcement Friday about who would be chosen to light the two Olympic cauldrons.
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Typically, the host conference selects a current or former Olympian to receive the honor. French track and field star Marie-José Perec, who has won three gold medals in her career, is one of two people chosen to light the cauldron at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The other is French judo gold medalist Teddy Riner, who also won three gold medals in his Olympic career.
During the 2022 Beijing Olympics, skier Zhao Jiawen and cross-country skier Dirnigal Ilhamjan won this honor. Both athletes competed in the 2022 Olympics but did not win medals in their respective sports.
If Italy wants to highlight successful Olympians from the past, it could look to skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba for the honor. Compagnoni and Tomba each won three Winter Olympic gold medals during their careers. Neither has been selected to carry the cauldron before it is lit, so organizers may be saving Compagnoni and Tomba for this moment.
When will the opening ceremony be held?
The opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina will take place on Friday, February 6 at approximately 2:00 pm ET. The opening ceremony will begin at 8pm in Italy. The entire event is expected to last about three hours and will feature a parade of athletes from various countries and performances by Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Chinese pianist Lang Lang and Italian actress Sabrina Impacciatore.
The event will air live on Peacock at 2pm ET and air in prime time on NBC at 8pm ET.