Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony will be held at the Arena di Verona — the breathtaking Roman amphitheater in the heart of Verona, Italy, dating back to 30 AD and seating nearly 22,000 people. Roughly two hours from Milan and three hours from Cortina d'Ampezzo, Verona is among the most iconic settings in all of European culture.

The choice of the Verona Arena is a deliberate, powerful statement. The venue has hosted world-class opera performances — most famously Aida — for over a century. Staging the Olympic closing ceremony inside it elevates the farewell to something closer to theater than sport, connecting the Games to thousands of years of Italian history in a single visual image.

It is a striking contrast to the opening ceremony at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (San Siro) in Milan on February 6 — with dual Olympic cauldrons lit at the Arco della Pace in Milan and Piazza Dibona in Cortina d'Ampezzo, reflecting the Games' unprecedented dual-city format.

The ceremony's creative concept, Beauty in Action, was developed by artistic director Alfredo Accatino and celebrates Italian cultural identity through music, visual art, and storytelling — while carrying a pointed message about climate change and the existential threat rising temperatures pose to the future of winter sport.

It is a theme that resonates with unusual force at these Games. Milano Cortina 2026 took place against the backdrop of ongoing debates about snowpack reliability across the Alpine region, and several events required additional artificial snow. The closing ceremony will not shy away from that context.