Opening ceremony today, figure skating begins at Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

By Canadian Press on February 6, 2026.

MILAN — The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics officially get underway today with a multi-site opening ceremony spread across northern Italy.

It will be an unusual opening ceremony, reflecting the most spread-out Olympics ever, with the main event in Milan and additional ceremonies and athlete parades in Predazzo, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury, of Deux-Montagnes, Que., and ski cross racer Marielle Thompson, of Whistler, B.C., both Olympic gold-medallists, will carry the Canadian flag in Livigno.

Figure skating begins today in Milan with Day 1 of the team event. Ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier lead off for Canada with the rhythm dance, followed by Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud in the pairs short program and Madeline Schizas in the women’s singles short program.

In Cortina, Canada’s mixed doubles curling team of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, unbeaten at 3-0, continues round-robin play against the United States.

Canadian alpine skiers are scheduled for downhill training, with the women training in Cortina d’Ampezzo at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre and the men on the Stelvio Ski Centre course in Bormio.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2026.

The Canadian Press