In the rehearsal tent: Here's what makes the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony special

MILAN (AP) — Inside a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy mimicked Nordic walkers and figure skaters during a rehearsal Saturday for the opening number of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympicsopening ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 6.

The young dancers are among some 1,200 volunteers who have been rehearsing since November in the tent large enough to mark the actual stage while Italian Serie A soccer wrapped up its final soccer matches before turning the iconic stadium into an Olympic venue.

“The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating journey, because you get to meet all these volunteers, dance classes, normal people,’’ opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich told The Associated Press during a rare behind-the-scenes tour.

Volunteers include Balich’s butcher, the head of his office and an 88-year-old widow.

“And all of them join in to create something for the nation, for the joy of being part of a huge event like the Olympics,’’ said Balich, the producer of a record 16 Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies including the 2006 Turin opening ceremony.

Over the next two weeks, rehearsals will amp up to some nine hours a day -- all in pursuit of Olympic emotion for what is billed as the most viewed moment of the Games. Some 60,000 people are expected to attend the ceremony live in San Siro, including a U.S. delegation led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, while millions around the world will watch on official broadcasters.

The theme of this year’s opening ceremony is “Harmony,’’ an especially potent message as the world order is shaken and populations from Ukraine to Gaza to Iran are exposed to violence.

The concept of an Olympic Truce, originating in ancient Greece and revived by Olympic officials in the 1990s, is even more urgent this year, Balich said. The truce aims to promote peace and dialogue through sport by ceasing hostilities for a week before the Olympics and a week after the Paralympics, which close March 15. Getting belligerents to cooperate is another matter.

“In this moment, where forces and bullies are predominant, I think it’s very important for all of us to embrace the values that the Olympics represents, which is to compete respectfully and peacefully between all the countries and nations, summarized in the title ‘Harmony,’ ’’ Balich said.

Balich’s ceremony will highlight Italian excellence and creativity, including a nod to Milan’s role as a fashion capital, and eye-openers he won't reveal to preserve the surprise.

Some moments of the opening ceremony have been announced: U.S. pop star Mariah Carey, crossover tenor Andrea Bocelli, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, Italian singer Laura Pausini and concert pianist Lang Lang will perform.

Others are prescribed by Olympic protocol. They include the unveiling of the Olympic rings, the parade of athletes and, in the final moment, the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.

This year there will be two cauldrons, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's geometric studies: one in Milan, at the Arco della Pace some four kilometers (2½ miles) from San Siro, and the other in Cortina, some five hours and 400 kilometers (250 miles) away.

Director of ceremonies Maria Laura Iascone promised some “Olympic magic,’’ to transfer the flame over the final legs, given the extraordinary distances involved.

As the dual cauldron lighting illustrates, the 2026 Games are the most spread out in Olympic history. So that athletes even in far-flung venues near the Swiss and Austrian borders can participate, the Parade of Athletes will be beamed in from three other venues, including Cortina.

“This event will bring a lot of this magic and images. We keep a balance between the protocol moments that will be, let’s say, serious, very precise, and also moments where emotion will be brought through the participation of key roles and people,’’ Iascone said.

The rehearsal tent holds not only the mock stage, but also a huge wardrobe room with 1,400 costumes, some in bright broadcast-friendly Technicolor tones, and a corner for seamstresses and tailors to make final adjustments.

A sign on the door tells the performers who enter: “Your Happy Moment Starts Now! Welcome!”

Volunteer Fostis Siadimas didn't need to be told. This is his second opening ceremony as a volunteer performer, after participating in the 2004 Summer Olympics in his native Athens as a 20-year-old. An amateur dancer now living in Milan, he eagerly answered the casting call.

‘’The last few moments before entering the stadium, it’s an experience, one of the best of my life, ever,’’ Siadimas said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Tailors work on clothes during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, at a compound in a big tent next to San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Dancers perform during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, at a compound in a big tent next to San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Costumes and clothes are checked during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, at a compound in a big tent next to San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Volunteer dancers perform during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, at a compound in a big tent next to San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Volunteer dancers perform during rehearsals for the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, at a compound in a big tent next to San Siro Stadium, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Videos quickly emerged showing the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester by a Border Patrol agent that has been widely denounced as a case of excessive force carried out by untrained federal officers. The Trump administration says it was a case of an armed man provoking violence.

The Associated Press reviewed multiple bystander videos that show a Border Patrol agent shooting and killing 37-year-old Alex Pretti after a roughly 30-second scuffle around 9 a.m. Saturday. The videos appear to contradict statements by the Trump administration, which said the shots were fired “defensively” against Pretti as he “approached” them with a gun.

In the videos, Pretti is seen with only a phone in his hand. During the scuffle, “gun, gun” is heard, and an officer appears to pull a handgun from Pretti’s waist area and begins moving away. As that happens, a first shot is fired by a Border Patrol officer. There’s a slight pause, and then the same officer fires several more times into Pretti’s back.

Afterward, authorities said Pretti had a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun. He was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said he watched one of the videos, said he saw “more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents, shooting him to death." Frey has said Minneapolis and St. Paul are being “invaded” by the administration's largest immigration crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti attacked officers, and Customs and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said Pretti wanted to do “maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.” In posts on X, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, called Pretti "a would-be assassin.”

It was the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities this month. The first, on Jan. 7, involved Renee Good. It also was captured on videos and produced a similar schism among political leaders.

The shooting occurred when officers were pursuing a man in the country illegally who was wanted for domestic assault, Bovino said. Protesters routinely try to disrupt such operations, and they sounded high-pitched whistles, honked horns and yelled at officers.

Among them was Pretti. At one point, in a video obtained by AP, Pretti is standing in the street and holding up his phone. He is face-to-face with an officer in a tactical vest, who places his hand on Pretti and pushes him toward the sidewalk.

Pretti is talking to the officer, though it is not clear what he is saying.

The video shows protesters wandering in and out of the street as officers persist in trying to keep them at bay. One protester is put in handcuffs. Some officers are carrying pepper spray canisters.

Pretti comes in again when the video shows an officer wearing tactical gear shoving a protester. The protester, who is wearing a skirt over black tights and holding a water bottle, reaches out for Pretti.

The same officer shoves Pretti in his chest, leading Pretti and the other protester to stumble backward.

A different video then shows Pretti moving toward another protester, who falls over after being shoved by the same officer. Pretti moves between the protester and the officer, reaching his arms out toward the officer.

The officer deploys pepper spray, and Pretti raises his hand and turns his face. The officer grabs Pretti's hand to bring it behind his back, deploys the pepper spray canister again and then pushes Pretti away.

Seconds later, at least a half-dozen federal officers surround Pretti, who is wrestled to the ground and hit several times. Several agents try to bring Pretti’s arms behind his back, and he struggles.

Videos show an officer, who is hovering over the scuffle with his right hand on Pretti’s back, backing away from the group with what appears to be a gun in his right hand just before the first shot.

Someone shouts “gun, gun.” It is not clear if that’s a reference to the weapon authorities say Pretti had.

Then the first shot is heard.

Pretti slumps to the ground. Videos show the officers backing away, some with guns drawn. More shots are fired.

The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was shot after he “approached” Border Patrol officers with a gun. Officials did not say if Pretti brandished the weapon or kept it hidden.

An agency statement said officers fired “defensive shots” after Pretti “violently resisted” officers tried to disarm him.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz expressed dismay at the characterization.

“I’ve seen the videos, from several angles, and it’s sickening,” he said.

Trump weighed in on social media by lashing out Walz and Frey. Trump shared images of the gun that immigration officials said was recovered from Pretti and said “What is that all about? Where are the local Police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE Officers?”

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - Armed community response members patrol near the scene where 37-year-old Alex Pretti was fatally shot by a U.S. Border Patrol officer earlier in the day, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in response to the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis earlier in the day Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)