Italian singer Pausini to perform at Milano Cortina Games opening ceremony

Italian singer and songwriter Laura Pausini will be among the headline performers at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, organisers said on Friday.

Pausini, one of Italy's most internationally acclaimed artists, is credited with helping to bring the country's music to a global audience.

She has won a Grammy, five Latin Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination during a career spanning more than three decades.

The Milano Cortina Games opening ceremony will take place on February 6 at Milan's San Siro Stadium.

Created and produced by Balich Wonder Studio, the event will feature performances by international artists like American pop superstar Mariah Carey alongside elements celebrating Italian culture and innovation.

Pausini "embodies the concept of Harmony", the central theme of the ceremony, and her music represents a meeting point between tradition and modernity, between Italian roots and an international outlook, organisers said in a statement.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be staged across northern Italy, with events hosted in Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo and other venues in Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.

The Games will run from February 6 to 22. (Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Pritha Sarkar)