Ballet legend Roberto Bolle will lead the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony in Verona’s iconic Roman Arena.
Italy: Internationally acclaimed ballet star Roberto Bolle has been confirmed to take centre stage at the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, organizers announced Thursday.
The ceremony, titled “Beauty in Motion,” will be held on 22 February 2026 at the ancient Arena di Verona — a UNESCO World Heritage site — marking a historic first for the Winter Games.
Bolle, who trained at the prestigious Teatro alla Scala Ballet School and has performed with leading companies around the world.
He previously appeared at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and is making a return to Olympic ceremony stages two decades later. The closing event is the grand finale of the Games co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The decision to stage the ceremony in Verona underlines the organisers’ ambition to blend sport, culture and architecture — the Arena, dating back nearly 2,000 years, will play a dramatic role.
Artistic director Alfredo Accatino revealed that the central stage within the arena will be shaped like a water-drop — symbolically linking the mountain venues of the Games with the fertile Po River Valley and the Venetian lagoon.
The theme will incorporate climate-change messaging: “If the climate continues to change, there won’t be Winter Olympics anymore,” Accatino cautioned.
While Bolle is the only performer announced so far, organisers expect leading Italian artists to join the show both on stage and behind the scenes.
As preparations accelerate, ticketing and seating are still being finalised: the arena’s usual capacity is around 15,000 for opera events, but the expanded staging and reserved official delegation seating mean the Games-fare version will host fewer spectators.
The selection of Bolle and the historic Verona venue signals an ambitious vision for the closing ceremony — one that fuses athletic triumph with high art and Italian cultural splendour.
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