MILAN (AP) — The Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan on Friday offered a bonanza of highlights: the lighting of a Leonardo da Vinci-inspired cauldron, athletes in eye-popping attire from top designers, Mariah Carey belting out high notes in Italian and much more.
One key thing it didn't provide: snow.
That much-desired winter wonderland could be found in a far smaller venue elsewhere in the city, even with temperatures outside close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius).
A special edition of “Slava’s Snowshow” is on the slate of cultural activities Olympics organizers are promoting on the sidelines. Created by Slava Polunin, a renowned Russian clown and artist, the production has filled theaters with storms of paper snow in more than 60 countries since 1993.
“Snow is a very powerful image,” Polunin told The Associated Press in an email. “It can be immensely beautiful and incredibly dangerous.”
In Milan, he's presenting at the Teatro Strehler till Feb. 22, the last day of the Olympics. On Friday, it had a packed house, with spectators choosing the subdued enchantment of snowfall over the grandiose spectacle in the opening ceremony that was broadcast far and wide.
“We saw the show about 15 years ago, and now that we have children, we wanted to experience it again with them,” said Paola Volpe. “We were especially eager to return because we heard this was a special version linked to the Olympics.”
For Polunin, 75, the Olympics offered an opportunity to update a production rooted in memory and play.
“It is an honor to present the show at a moment when the attention of people around the world is focused on the place where you are performing,” he said. “As for the adaptation, the show is largely built on improvisation.”
The show’s actors absorb the atmosphere of the Games, embracing surprises and creating new situations ahead of each performance.
During Friday’s performance, Polunin briefly mimed a phone call, jokingly referring to the ongoing Games. At another moment, the “Chariots of Fire” theme song — nowadays, synonymous with hammy, slow-mo athletic competition — rang out as he and his fellow clowns staged a playful scene.
Half a dozen clowns in bright green costumes shared the stage with Polunin, dressed in yellow. Actors climbed into the seats, swapped spectators’ belongings and opened umbrellas, lightly spraying water around.
For an hour and a half, the theater filled with clapping, laughter and children’s cheers. The stage was blanketed in white until just before the final curtain, when giant, multi-colored globes bounced through the crowd.
“The show is a dream,” said Raquele Maggi, who has seen the show about six times with her daughters in previous years. “It’s a little like magic.”
Polunin, 75, was born in Siberia, a place that shaped the emotional landscape of the work.
He remembers the joy of building white cities, roads and snowmen as a child. At the same time, he feared his parents leaving home, both on foot and by car, during snowfalls or snowstorms.
“I always try to look at things from different points of view, to see both the comic and the tragic side,” Polunin said. “For me, snow is full of beauty and anxiety.”
His performance conveys those deeper emotions. In one of the quietest moments, Polunin clutches an empty coat close to his chest, a gesture both tender and deeply lonely.
Audiences often say his show feels like a journey toward their childhoods. For Polunin, it is also a process of self-discovery, one that continues to evolve, accomplished without a single spoken line of dialogue.
“Since our show is not tied to a language, it is understood by everyone,” he said, echoing the universality often associated with the Olympic spirit.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
A performer from the Snowshow at the Piccolo Teatro Grassi reacts with a passer by, ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
A view of paper snow and large balloons released during “Slava’s Snowshow” at Teatro Strehler, on the sidelines of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/María Teresa Hernández)
Russian clown and artist Slava Polunin and performers of his show appear onstage during “Slava’s Snowshow” at Teatro Strehler, on the sidelines of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/María Teresa Hernández)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Savannah Guthrie told the potential kidnappers of her mother Nancy Guthrie on Saturday that the family is prepared to pay for her safe return, as the frantic search for the 84-year-old has entered a seventh day.
“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” she said in a video posted on social media, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”
It was not immediately clear if the longtime host of NBC's “Today” show was referring to a new message from someone who might have kidnapped Nancy Guthrie. The Associated Press reached out to the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department seeking additional details.
Tucson TV station KOLD on Friday that it received a message via email that was tied to the Guthrie case, the contents of which it could not disclose. The FBI said it was aware of a new message and was reviewing its authenticity.
Investigators think Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will from her home just outside Tucson last weekend. DNA tests showed blood on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has said. Authorities have not identified any suspects or ruled anyone out.
The sheriff said Friday that he was frustrated that a camera at Nancy Guthrie’s home was not able to capture images of anyone the day she went missing.
Investigators have found that the home’s doorbell camera was disconnected early Sunday and that software data recorded movement at the home minutes later. But Nancy Guthrie did not have an active subscription, so none of the images were able to be recovered.
“It is concerning, it’s actually almost disappointing, because you’ve got your hopes up,” Nanos told The Associated Press in an interview. “OK, they got an image. ‘Well, we do, but we don’t.’”
President Donald Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Friday, said the investigation was going “very well.”
“We have some clues that I think are very strong,” Trump said, while en route to his Florida estate. “We have some things that may be coming out reasonably soon.”
They were back in Nancy Guthrie’s neighborhood on Friday.
The sheriff’s department posted on social media to say access was restricted to the road in front of the home to give investigators space. Journalists staked out there were directed to move.
The Catalina Foothills Association, a neighborhood group, told residents in a letter that authorities were resuming searches in the area immediately.
“I know we all stand together in our collective disbelief and sadness and greatly appreciate your willingness to speak with law enforcement, share camera images and allow searches of your properties,” the association president said in the letter.
The sheriff said Thursday that investigators have not given up on trying to retrieve camera recordings.
“I wish technology was as easy as we believe it is, that here’s a picture, here’s your bad guy. But it’s not,” Nanos told the AP. “There are pieces of information that come to us from these tech groups that say ‘this is what we have and we can’t get anymore.’”
The sheriff also said he had no new information about the note to the TV station or other purported ransom letters sent to some media outlets, saying the FBI is handling that side of the investigation.
Meanwhile concern about Nancy Guthrie’s health condition has grown, because authorities say she needs vital daily medicine. She is said to have a pacemaker and have dealt with high blood pressure and heart issues, according to sheriff’s dispatcher audio on broadcastify.com.
“Her conditions, I would imagine, are worsening day by day,” Nanos said. “She requires medication. And I have no way of knowing whether they’re getting that medication to her.”
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released a previous video message, on Wednesday, saying they were ready to talk but wanted proof of life. Camron Guthrie repeated that in a video Thursday.
It is not clear if all of the ransom notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a deadline that passed Thursday evening and a second deadline for Monday if the first one was not met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie’s home and an Apple watch, Janke said.
The kidnapping has captured the attention of Americans, including Trump, who said he was directing federal authorities to help investigate.
This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
Members of the press work in the neighborhood near the home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
The home of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie, is seen from above, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Caitlin O'Hara)
Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks with The Associated Press, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
