San Siro opens the Olympics: the Meazza as a home for global sport

There’s a sound that San Siro knows better than most. It’s not just the roar of a goal or the fans celebrating. It’s the sound of history.

Tonight at 20:00 CET, it will happen again: the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza will host the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, stepping firmly into a dimension that goes beyond football. An Olympic debut that coincides with the stadium’s centenary year and feels like one final, enormous tribute to the city.

The Winter Olympics could not have started anywhere else. In the place that, more than any other, embodies the sporting soul of Milano. The Meazza will be the stage for the opening of the Games – a symbolic, powerful event: San Siro as the gateway to the Olympics, a meeting point between memory and the future. Though born and raised for football, San Siro has often reinvented itself, welcoming other sports along the way.

NIGHT OF BOXING

In the 1960s, San Siro became a boxing ring. Duilio Loi vs. Carlos Ortiz, the world light-welterweight title on the line. 80,000 spectators, with Milano both elegant and working-class at once. Loi won on points after coming close to a knockout in the eleventh round – a legendary night.

RUGBY AND THE ROAR OF THE ALL BLACKS

In 1988, international rugby made its first appearance at the Meazza with a European Nations Cup match between Italy and Romania. On that occasion, the Azzurri won 12-3. But the real watershed moment came in 2009: Italy vs. New Zealand, 81,081 spectators – an all-time record. The Azzurri lost 20-6 but gave the All Blacks a huge test. San Siro discovered it could fall in love with rugby, too.

THE GAMES' VENUES

The 2026 Olympics will have a distinctly Milanese flavour across many iconic locations. San Siro will host the opening ceremony, the solemn gateway through which the world will enter the Games.

At the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, ice hockey will take centre stage – a sport that defines the Winter Olympics – in a venue built for the future and major international competitions. Rho Fiera Milano will showcase two sports defined by speed and power on ice: speed skating and, once again, ice hockey.

Short track and figure skating will take the spotlight at the Forum di Assago, where technique and elegance come to the fore. A precise, recognisable urban and sporting mosaic, with San Siro as the first piece – and the very heart of it.

The Olympic Village, the beating heart of Milanese hospitality, will welcome athletes and staff throughout the Games. Designed to endure beyond the event, it will transform the Porta Romana area into a vibrant new neighbourhood, complete with services, accommodation, and public spaces. A meticulously organised operation that will leave a lasting legacy for the city.

Casa Italia: an open and symbolic space in the heart of Milano, at the Triennale, where sport becomes storytelling and shared experience. Not just the home of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), but a venue for meetings, events, and stories that live beyond the medals. A daily reference point for athletes, institutions, and the public alike throughout the Games.

MONTAGNETTA, TOMBA, AND CHRISTMAS 1984

There’s another hill, not far from San Siro, that tells the story of an Olympics before the Olympics. It’s Monte Stella, also informally called Montagnetta di San Siro, built from the rubble of the Second World War. On 23 December 1984, Milano brought skiing to the city – a revolutionary idea. That day, Alberto Tomba had just turned 18. He was supposed to play a minor role, a sparring partner. Instead, he won everything. Holzer, De Chiesa, Edalini, Erlacher – all defeated one after the other. La Gazzetta dello Sport ran the headline without even using his surname: “Un azzurro della B beffa i grandi” (“An Italian from the B ranks shocks the greats”). It was the start of an epic, in Milano, amid artificial snow and a cheering crowd. Italian skiing was changing forever, and the phenomenon of Tomba had arrived.