The ceremony was attended by almost 2.9 thousand athletes qualified for the Games and representatives of National Olympic Committees from 93 countries. Moldova was represented by six athletes – Alina Stremous, Pavel Magazeev, Maxim Makarov, Elizaveta Hlusovic, Iulian Lukin and Mihail Usov as a reserve. The youngest members of the national team – Hlusovici and Lukin – became flag bearers of the Moldovan delegation.
For the first time in history, the Winter Olympics are held in two locations – Milan and the ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo. On this occasion, two bowls with the Olympic flame were installed: one in Milan on the Arc de Triomphe and the second one in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Piazza Dibona.
At the opening ceremony, Italian alpine skiers Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba lit the Olympic flame at the San Siro stadium in front of 77,000 spectators.
In just over two weeks, the Olympics will feature 116 medal events in eight sports.
The White Olympics-2026 is the eighth one for Moldova. The record holder among Moldovan athletes is biathlete and skier Elena Gorohova, who has participated in the Games four times. She is followed by luge athlete Bogdan Macovei, who has participated in the Olympics three times.
