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Mariah Carey is going to add some American pop-star pedigree to the opening ceremony for the upcoming Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
The local organizing committee announced on Monday that the 56-year-old Carey is the first international star named to perform in the Feb. 6 ceremony at Milan’s San Siro soccer stadium.
“Ci vediamo a Milano” (See you in Milan), Carey said on Instagram.
“Mariah Carey fully represents the emotional atmosphere that accompanies the run-up to the Games,” the committee said. “Music is a universal language that attracts different stories and sensibilities, and intertwines with the opening ceremony’s theme of harmony.”
The Games will be spread over northern Italy, as will the opening ceremonies. Opening events are to be held in three mountain clusters — Cortina, Predazzo and Livigno — as well as at the San Siro Stadium, which will be packed with 60,000 spectators. The Olympic flame will also burn in two places — the Arco della Pace in central Milan and in Cortina’s main Piazza Dibona.
The diffusion of the Parade of Nations across multiple locations will allow athletes from all disciplines, no matter how far-flung, to participate, according to organizers.
Internationally acclaimed ballet star Roberto Bolle will headline the closing ceremony, which is slated for Verona’s ancient Roman Arena on Feb. 22.
The opening ceremonies are often filled with big stars and some surprises. At the opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, Lady Gaga performed in pink feathers, Aya Nakamura took the stage and Céline Dion made a much-rumoured performance to close out the ceremony.
