The 2026 Winter Olympics opened Friday night in Italy with two simultaneous ceremonies in Milan and Cortina. About 2,900 athletes from 90 countries will compete for 116 medals across 16 disciplines in eight winter sports, with the Games concluding on Feb. 22.
At the main ceremony at San Siro Stadium, figure skater Mariia Seniuk carried the Israeli flag, and boos were heard from the stands as Israel’s delegation entered in blue and white. Skier Jared Firestone carried the flag at the parallel ceremony held at the snowy Olympic venue in Cortina. The spectacular opening ceremony featured performances by international and Italian artists, with singer Maria Carey stealing the show with a rendition of the iconic song “Volare.”
Israel arrives at the Games with a delegation of 10 athletes, the same number as at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang: eight men and two women competing in five Olympic sports, along with 11 coaches and staff members. Five of the athletes, Adam Edelman, Menachem Chen, Ward Farwaseh, Omer Katz and Uri Zisman, will form Israel’s bobsleigh team, marking the country’s first-ever appearance in the sport.
In figure skating, Seniuk will compete, while siblings Barnabás and Noa Szőllős will take part in alpine skiing. Dr. Attila Mihaly Kertesz will compete in cross-country skiing, and Firestone will represent Israel in skeleton.
7 View gallery
One of the standout performances at the opening ceremony
(Photo: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)
The Israeli delegation includes several unusual personal stories. In addition to the bobsleigh team, Dr. Kertesz stands out. The 37-year-old veterinarian immigrated to Israel from Hungary with his family and was previously a kayaker. In Cortina, he will compete in cross-country skiing.
The Winter Olympics feature athletes from 90 countries, fewer than half the 206 nations that took part in the Paris Summer Olympics. At the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, 91 countries competed, with Norway finishing atop the medal table with 37 medals, including 16 gold, eight silver and 13 bronze. Germany, with 27 medals, and China, with 15, followed.