Mariah Carey Sings ‘Volare’ in Italian to Open the Milan Cortina Games, and the Internet Wants to Talk About the Teleprompter

The 2026 Winter Olympics opened in Milan on Friday (Feb. 6) with a three-hour spectacle built on Italian music, art and fashion, and by Saturday morning the part everyone was discussing was an American pop singer doing a 1950s Italian standard.

Mariah Carey performed Domenico Modugno’s “Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu,” better known as “Volare,” in San Siro stadium, an AP report calls a showstopping highlight of the show, and later sang her own new song “Nothing Is Impossible.” NPR’s photo report lists her alongside Andrea Bocelli, rapper Ghali, actress Matilda De Angelis and ballet dancers Antonella Albano and Claudio Coviello, with tributes to composers, artists and films woven through the night. “Such a dream come true to perform (in Italian!) at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony,” Carey wrote on Instagram afterward.

Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony Highlights | #MilanoCortina2026Olympic Games · Watch on YouTube ↗

The teleprompter

Online, some wondered why an Italian singer wasn’t given the spot, and a large teleprompter spelling out the Italian lyrics phonetically, “Voh-lah-reh” for “Volare,” went viral, with posts including one from Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi racking up hundreds of thousands of views, according to AP. Three reporters, including AP’s, asked organizers about it at Saturday’s news conference. Maria Laura Iascone, Milan Cortina’s director of ceremonies, defended the choice and said a teleprompter is routine for artists singing outside their native language:

We believe that Mariah Carey’s performance was exceptional. She was capable of creating a magic moment.

Maria Laura Iascone, AP, via News Tribune

Asked whether Carey was lip-syncing, Iascone didn’t answer directly. She said that “in order to be on the safe side” performances for internationally broadcast events are always recorded ahead of time, and that Carey wasn’t paid, AP reported.

A review that wasn’t kind

Not everyone bought it. Deadline’s review said the three-plus hours lacked cohesion beyond a devotion to aesthetics, and found Carey’s early placement confusing, though it credited her for the Italian. The Italian voices carried the emotional peak: the show featured tenor Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini and mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, per AP. Charlize Theron quoted Nelson Mandela on peace in the middle of the stadium, Deadline noted, and Taylor Swift appeared in a pre-recorded message for NBC viewers.

Two cauldrons

Reuters, via the Cyprus Mail, reports the ceremony also included a tribute to the late designer Giorgio Armani, a recorded video of Italian President Sergio Mattarella riding a Milan tram, and separate celebrations in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 250 miles away. For the first time, two Olympic cauldrons burn throughout the Games, one at Milan’s Arco della Pace and one in Cortina’s Piazza Dibona. There were also protests outside the stadium in Milan against the presence of analysts from a department that falls under U.S. immigration enforcement.

The Games run until Feb. 22, with Roberto Bolle headlining the closing ceremony in Verona’s Roman Arena. Our February guide has the rest of the month’s sports and screens, and two days later it’s Super Bowl LX.

Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.