Andrea Bocelli to join Mariah Carey at Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Andrea Bocelli will be among the headline performers at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan on 6 February.

The crossover tenor joins the previously announced pop diva Mariah Carey, organisers announced on Sunday.

Bocelli, a classically trained singer whose recordings include classical and pop music, has previously performed at the coronation of King Charles III and at the 75th anniversary of the Italian Constitution in Rome.

He will appear at the Winter Olympics ceremony during a break from a world tour, Billboard reports, travelling the next day to perform in Columbus, Ohio, followed by six other US dates.

Bocelli’s performance “will constitute one of the most iconic moments of the event, uniting the spectacle with the essence of Olympic values”, organisers said in a statement, adding that Bocelli’s inclusion will “contribute a contemporary and global tone to the narrative”.

The 2026 Olympics opening ceremony will take place in Milan’s San Siro football stadium, featuring the Parade of Athletes and other entertainment over the course of a three-hour spectacle.

The ceremony will also include a tribute to the late Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at the age of 91. Armani has long designed the Italian team’s Olympic uniforms, and his legacy as one of the founders of Italian ready-to-wear is a part of Milan’s history.