The official opening ceremony is only tonight, but the Winter Olympics in Italy have already begun. On Wednesday and Thursday, mountain skiers, curling masters, snowboarders and ice hockey players started their starts.
The opening ceremony of the games will start at 21:00. Of course, it will also be broadcast live on Latvian TV.
While waiting for the opening ceremony, we hear what our delegation hopes to expect from it. Tells Harry Vitolinshead coach and flag bearer of the Latvian ice hockey team in 2002, as well as Olympic debutant, ice hockey player Christian Rubin.
We also communicate with Jāni Īpuruwho was the flag bearer in 1992 in Albertville, France. Together we remember those times and outline what is to come in these games.
The kick-off ceremony will take place at the legendary San Siro stadium in Milan, where football is played every day, and it is one of the most legendary football stadiums in the world. Although nothing has been officially announced yet, it is expected that the opening ceremony will also be a tribute to the history of the stadium. The stadium has a capacity of approximately 80 thousand fans and was opened exactly 100 years ago. In the fall of 2025, the city of Milan voted to demolish the stadium, and a new stadium will be constructed in its place after some time.
As stipulated by the Olympic Charter, the program of the event will include artistic performances reflecting the culture of the host country, i.e. Italy, and the host cities – Milan and Cortina, as well as a parade of athletes and the lighting of the Olympic flame.
The Games will be officially opened by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. This will be the first Winter Olympics to have an opening ceremony under the presidency of International Olympic Committee President Kersey Coventry.
The scenario of the opening ceremony is kept under wraps, as always, but the world’s sharpest media scouts have given their guesses. Music is believed to be the centerpiece of the ceremony, although only a few artists have been confirmed so far. The concept of the ceremony envisages highlighting several competition venues.
A total of 2,871 sportsmen and women from 92 countries are planning to compete in the 25th Winter Olympic Games, while 68 athletes will represent Latvia. This is the largest delegation with which Latvia has ever participated in the Winter Games. We will have athletes in biathlon, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, figure skating, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, short track and, of course, also in hockey – our men’s national hockey team will participate in the Olympic Games for the 7th time, if we include one time before the Soviet occupation.
Kaspars Daugavins, the captain of the hockey team, knight of the Order of the Three Stars, will be one of our flag bearers at the opening ceremony. He will do it alongside our alpine skier Jennifer German.
Hockey players have most often carried our flag – starting with Leonidas Jānis Vedējus in 1936 in Bavaria, but after the regaining of independence, it was done by men who are now in the coaching staff of the national team – Harijs Vītoliņš, Artūrs Irbe, Sandis Ozoliņš and Lauris Dārziņš. Bobsledders have been our flag bearers almost as often.
The first starts for our athletes are tomorrow, February 7. In the morning, Elvis Opmanis will lead a downhill skiing race, later our skiers Patricija Eidukas, Kitija Auzinas, Linda Kaparkalėja and Samanta Krampe will start the skiathlon competition, and in the evening, our sledders Krister Aparjodas and Gintas Bērzińs will have the first two races.
More precise information about the start times can be found on the portal lsm.lv and you can watch the competition itself on the channel LTV7.
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