Olympics closing ceremony: Highlights as Winter Olympics close

MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics are wrapping up today with the closing ceremony at Verona Olympic Arena.

Hockey captain and gold medalist Hilary Knight and ice dance silver medalist Evan Bates are the flag bearers for Team USA.

The United States will leave the Milano Cortina Games with 33 medals (12 gold, 12 silver, 9 bronze), second in the standings behind Norway (41).

USA TODAY Sports is bringing you live updates from the closing ceremony. Follow along.

LA28 preview: Kate Hudson has us ‘California Dreamin’

After the close to these Winter Olympics, NBC shifted to summer dreams with a commercial for the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. And with it, we all got Kate Hudson singing The Mamas & the Papas’ famous ‘California Dreamin.”

Arrivederci, Milano Cortina Games

The opera characters return one last time. Rigoletto knows his work is done, and he can returnto rest in the depths of the arena, where the costumes and scenery from hundreds of shows are crammed. With a wave, he disappears into the ‘magic box’ where he rests, awaiting a new and extraordinary adventure.

And that will put a bow on the closing ceremony.

French Alps, you’re up

Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee, officially closes the book on these Milano Cortina Games. And the French Alps are officially on the clock.

And the closing ceremony party kicks up a notch with Major Lazer, led by Diplo, performs. Along with MØ, Nyla and Alfa.

Final medal count Olympics 2026

The final medal tally from the 2026 Winter Olympics:

• 1. Norway: 41 Total (18 Gold, 12 Silver, 11 Bronze)
• 2. United States: 33 Total (12 Gold, 12 Silver, 9 Bronze)
• 3. Italy: 30 Total (10 Gold, 6 Silver, 14 Bronze)
• 4. Germany: 26 Total (8 Gold, 10 Silver, 8 Bronze)
• 5. Japan: 24 Total (5 Gold, 7 Silver, 12 Bronze)
• 6. France: 23 Total (8 Gold, 9 Silver, 6 Bronze)
• 6. Switzerland: 23 Total (6 Gold, 9 Silver, 8 Bronze)
• 7. Canada: 21 Total (5 Gold, 7 Silver, 9 Bronze)
• 8. Netherlands: 20 Total (10 Gold, 7 Silver, 3 Bronze)
• 10. Austria: 18 Total (5 Gold, 8 Silver, 5 Bronze)
• 10. Sweden: 18 Total (8 Gold, 6 Silver, 4 Bronze)
• 12. China: 15 Total (5 Gold, 4 Silver, 6 Bronze)
• 13. South Korea: 10 Total (3 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze)
• 14. Australia: 6 Total (3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 14. Finland: 6 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 5 Bronze)
• 16. Czech Republic: 5 Total (2 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 16. Great Britain: 5 Total (3 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 18. Slovenia: 4 Total (2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 18. Poland: 4 Total (0 Gold, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 20. Spain: 3 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)
• 20. New Zealand: 3 Total (0 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 22. Latvia: 2 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
• 22. Bulgaria: 2 Total (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 2 Bronze)
• 24. Brazil: 1 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Kazakhstan: 1 Total (1 Gold, 0 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Denmark: 1 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Estonia: 1 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Georgia: 1 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Individual Neutral Athletes: 1 Total (0 Gold, 1 Silver, 0 Bronze)
• 24. Belgium: 1 Total (0 Gold, 0 Silver, 1 Bronze)

Olympic flag handover ceremony

The mayors of Milano and Cortina d’Ampezzo present the Olympic Flag to the President of theInternational Olympic Committee, who then hands off to the hosts of the next WinterGames, French Alps.

The French flag is raised by the Italian Air Force’s Guard of Honour.

Where are the 2030 Winter Olympics?

The next Winter Games will be held in the French Alps, involving the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions. The four main clusters that will be used will be Nice, Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Briançon. The 2030 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 1-17, 2026.

What is ‘Il Mondo’?

The song playing during the ‘Water Cycle’ portion of the closing ceremony is ‘Il Mondo.’ The song was released in 1965 and performed by Jimmy Fontana and arranged by Ennio Morricone.

The song has become a part of popular culture, appearing in the soundtracks of many films. It isone of the most well-known Italian songs internationally, ranking third on the list of the 250 best Italian songs.

Final Olympic medals awarded

The tradition of awarding the final Olympic event during the closing ceremony was first introduced at the 2004 Athens Games, following the victory of Italian athlete Stefano Baldini in the men’s marathon.

At the Milano Cortina Games, it is the women’s and men’s 50 km classic mass start cross-country skiing. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson won the women’s race, while record-breaking Norwegian Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo won the men’s race.

Verona Arena

The closing ceremony for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games are being held at the iconic Verona Olympic Arena, which is located in Verona, Italy — roughly two hours away from Milan and roughly three hours from Cortina d’Ampezzo, the two host cities of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Verona Olympic Arena is the third-largest Roman amphitheater in Italy, and was built in 30 AD to host gladiator battles. — John Leuzzi

Olympics rings

The Olympic Rings are five interlocking rings – blue, black, red, yellow and green – createdby Pierre de Coubertin in 1913. They are symbolic of the unity of the five inhabited continents and the coming together of athletes from all over the world. They were presented at the 1914 Olympic Congress in Paris and first displayed at the 1920 Antwerp Games.

Contrary to popular belief, it is the five rings themselves that represent the five continents, not the colors of these rings. In fact, the six colors represented on the Olympic Flag – which includes the white background – werechosen because at least one of these colors can be seen on the flag of every nation.

Closing ceremony broadcasters

NBC’s broadcasters for the closing ceremony are Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weird, along with reporters Andrea Joyce and Lewis Johnson.

Alysa Liu on her future

The NBC crew caught up with Team USA star Alysa Liu, who won two gold medals at these Games, and asked her about her future in figure skating.

‘I have no plans to leave yet,’ she said. ‘I can’t imagine not skating next year.’

Liu had previously called competing at the 2022 Beijing Games ‘a job,’ but said the Milano Cortina Games were ‘definitely not a job.’

‘I just feel so lucky that I get to do this, and I love being an athlete. It’s the coolest thing in the world,’ she said.

Who is Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo?

Why does Greece go first at Olympics?

It’s tradition! Greece is the birthplace of the Olympic Games and holds this honor at every Olympics.

‘It was at Amsterdam 1928 that the tradition of the Greek delegation marching first was introduced – owing to the status of the founding country of the ancient Olympic Games,’ the official Olympics website reads.

Olympic flame arrives

The Flame, the very one that lit the cauldrons in Milano and Cortina after a 12,000 km journey, has arrived inVerona. Indeed, into the Verona. It’s time for the Olympic athletes to enter the arena.

Who is playing the Italian anthem?

Paolo Fresu, one of the world’s most influential trumpeters, begins the Italian anthem as the flag is hooked to the flag pole and raised. Fresu has recorded more than 500 albums since the 1980s.

The Choir of the Fondazione Arena di Verona sings from the Teatro Filarmonico, the second venue for thisceremony.

Celebrating Italy

The Italian flag arrives and the anthem of Italy is played.

Inside the Teatro Filarmonico

The Teatro Filarmonico di Verona is one of Italy’s leading opera houses, and features performances by the Choirand Orchestra of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, which has presented opera, ballet and symphonic music for more than 50 years.

The theater is owned by the Accademia Filarmonica, founded in 1543, the oldest active musical institution in Europe. The theater opened on Jan. 6, 1732 with Antonio Vivaldi’s La Fida Ninfa. It was rebuilt and reopened after a fire in 1754, it also hosted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Destroyed by bombing in 1945, it was rebuilt to faithfully reflect its original layout.

Closing ceremony opens at the opera

The closing ceremony begins with a behind the scenes look at the world of the opera, with characters spilling out to the arena to welcome the athletes. Iconic characters such as Rigoletto, Figaro, Aida and Madama Butterfly perform.

What time is Olympics closing ceremony?

The closing ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Where to watch Olympics closing ceremony?

NBC is broadcasting the closing ceremony, and Peacock is live streaming it.

USA flag bearers for closing ceremony

Hilary Knight and Evan Bates have been chosen as Team USA’s flag bearers for the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday.

Knight is the captain of the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team, and her third-period goal against Canada ended up sending the game into overtime, where Megan Keller’s goal four minutes into the extra period gave the U.S. a 2-1 victory and their third gold medal in the event.

‘I’m so, so honored to be part of this team. You guys are all so wonderful. And I think I can speak for Evan and myself when I say we are all so proud of everything you guys have accomplished and the people that you are and the people that you’ve become to be here today,’ Knight said.

Bates also won a gold medal in the figure skating team event and another silver medal in ice dance with his partner and wife, Madison Chock.

Closing ceremony flag bearers

• Greece: Maria Eeni Tsiovolou (Alpine skiing)
• Albania: Volunteer
• Andorra: Volunteer
• Saudi Arabia: Volunteer
• Argentina: Veronica Maria Ravenna (luge), Franco Dal Farra (cross-country skiing)
• Armenia: Volunteer
• Australia: Danielle Scott (freestyle skiing), Cooper Woods (freestyle skiing)
• Austria: Janine Flock (skeleton), Alessandro Haemmerle (snowboard)
• Azerbaijan: Volunteer
• Belgium: TBD
• Benin: Nathan Tchibozo (Alpine skiing)
• Bolivia: Timo Juhani Gronlund (cross-country skiing)
• Bosnia & Herzegovina: Volunteer
• Brazil: Edson Luques Bindilatti (bobsled)
• Bulgaria: TBD
• Canada: TBD
• Czechia: Martina Sablikova (speed skating), Metodej Jilek (speed skating)
• Chile: Stephanie Joffroy (freestyle skiing)
• China: Su Yiming (freestyle skiing)
• Cyprus: Yianno Kouyoumdjian (Alpine skiing)
• Colombia: Volunteer
• Korea: Choi Minjeong (short-track speed skating), Hwang Daeheon (short-track speed skating)
• Croatia: Tena Hadzic (cross-country skiing), Marko Skender (cross-country skiing)
• Denmark: Anne Buenemann de Besche (biathlon), Viktor Hald Thorup (speed skating)
• Ecuador: Volunteer
• UA Emirates: Piera Hudson (Alpine skiing), Alexander Astridge (Alpine skiing)
• Eritrea: Shannon Abeda (Apline skiing)
• Estonia: Niina Petrokina (figure skating), Marten Liiv (speed skating)
• Philippines: Tallulah Proulx (Alpine skiing), Francis Ceccarelli (Alpine skiing)
• Finland: Iida Karhunen (figure skating)
• Georgia: Nino Tsiklauri (Alpine skiing), Luka Berulava (figure skating)
• Germany: Tobias Wendl (luge), Tobias Arlt (luge)
• Jamaica: Volunteer
• Japan: Kaori Sakamoto (figure skating), Wataru Morishige (speed skating)
• Great Britain: TBD
• Guinea-Bissau: Winston Tang (Alpine skiing)
• Haiti: Richardson Viano (Alpine skiing)
• Hong Kong: Volunteer
• India: Stanzin Lundup (cross-country skiing)
• Iran: Sadaf Savehshemshaki (Alpine skiing)
• Ireland: TBD
• Iceland: Dagur Benediktsson (cross-country skiing)
• Israel: TBD
• Kazakhstan: Mikhail Shaidorov (figure skating)
• Kenya: Issa Gachingiri Laborde Die Pere (Alpine skiing)
• Kosovo: Drin Kokaj (Alpine skiing)
• Kyrgyzstan: Volunteer
• Latvia: Patricija Eiduka (cross-country skiing), Roberts Kruzbergs (short-track speed skating)
• Lebanon: Samer Tawk (cross-country skiing)
• Liechtenstein: Volunteer
• Lithuania: Meda Variakojyte (figure skating), Modestas Vaiciulis (cross-country skiing)
• Luxembourg: Matthieu Osch (Alpine skiing)
• North Macedonia: Volunteer
• Madagascar: Mialitiana Clerc (Alpine skiing), Mathieu Gravier (Alpine skiing)
• Malaysia: Aruwin Salehhuddin (Alpine skiing)
• Malta: Volunteer
• Morocco: Volunteer
• Mexico: Sarah Schleper (Alpine skiing), Donovan Carrillo (figure skating)
• Republic of Moldova: Iulian Luchin (cross-country skiing)
• Monaco: Volunteer
• Mongolia: Ariuntungalag Enkhbayar (cross-country skiing), Achbadrakh Batmunkh (cross-country skiing)
• Montenegro: Volunteer
• Nigeria: Samuel Uduigowme Ikpefan (cross-country skiing)
• Norway: Aurora Grinden Lovas (speed skating), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (cross-country skiing)
• New Zealand: TBD
• Netherlands: TBD
• Pakistan: Muhammad Karim (Alpine skiing)
• Poland: Gabriela Topolska (short-track speed skating), Vladimir Semirunniy (speed skating)
• Puerto Rico: Volunteer
• Portugal: Jose Cabeca (cross-country skiing)
• Romania: Julia Sauter (figure skating)
• San Marino: Rafael Minin (Alpine skiing)
• Serbia: Volunteer
• Singapore: Faiz Basha Munwar Basha (Alpine skiing)
• Slovakia: Rebeka Cully (ski mountaineering) Jakub Siarnik (ski mountaineering)
• Slovenia: Lila Grace Lapanja (Alpine skiing)
• Spain: Ana Alonso Rodriguez (ski mountaineering), Oriol Cardona Coll (ski mountaineering)
• South Africa: Thomas Weir (Alpine skiing)
• Sweden: Volunteer
• Switzerland: TBD
• Chinese Taipei: Sophia Tsu Velicer (cross-country skiing)
• Thailand: Karen Chanloung (cross-country skiing), Mark Chanloung (cross-country skiing)
• Trinidad and Tobago: De Aundre John (bobsled)
• Turkey: Volunteer
• Ukraine: Anhelina Brykina (freestyle skiing), Dmytro Kotovskyi (freestyle skiing)
• Hungary: Maria Pavlova (figure skating), Alexei Sviatchenko (figure skating)
• Uruguary: Volunteer
• Uzbekistan: Volunteer
• Venezuela: Volunteer
• United States: Hilary Knight (ice hockey), Evan Bates (figure skating)
• France: TBD
• Italy: Lisa Vittozzi (biathlon), Davide Ghiotto (speed skating)

Are the Olympics over?

Technically, no. The closing ceremony will mark the official end to the Milano Cortina Games. However, there are no more events on the schedule. Competition ended with Team USA’s 2-1 overtime win against Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game.

Why are so many countries skipping the closing ceremony?

There’s going to be even fewer athletes at the closing ceremony than usual.

Twenty-eight of the 92 countries at 2026 Milano Cortina Games won’t have an athlete flagbearer because none of their athletes will be at the ceremony. Another 35 will have only one flagbearer because they won’t any athletes of the other gender present.

The United States will have both flagbearers, hockey captain Hilary Knight and ice dancer Evan Bates.

While not having enough athletes to be flagbearers is a bit out of the ordinary, it’s also not necessarily a surprise. The closing ceremony always has a smaller athlete contingent because so many leave when their events are over. That’s especially true at the Winter Games, because many World Cup circuits resume a few days after the Olympics end and several sports have world championships within the next month.

The women’s Alpine speed skiers, for example, have a race on Friday, Feb. 27. The speed skating world championships begin March 5.

But the widespread footprint of these Games also makes it difficult for athletes in the mountain clusters to get to Verona, site of the closing ceremony.

It’s a four-hour plus trip from Livigno to Verona, and three hours from Cortina. Both sites had events earlier Sunday – the women’s freeski halfpipe final was in Livigno while the women’s curling gold medal game and four-man bobsled were in Cortina – making it near-impossible for those athletes to make it to closing in time.

For countries that don’t have a male or female athlete available to be a flagbearer, a volunteer will carry the flag. For those that only have either a male or female athlete, there will only be one flagbearer. — Nancy Armour

Olympic closing ceremony time

The closing ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Who won men’s ice hockey gold medal game?

Who is Johnny Gaudreau?

Johnny Gaudreau was a former NHL star who was on track to play for the United States during these 2026 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, died in a cycling accident in New Jersey on Aug. 29, 2024, after the pair were struck by a drunk driver.

The U.S. men’s hockey team paid homage to him throughout the tournament, hanging his jersey in their locker room. Gaudreau’s family members were also in attendance for Sunday’s gold medal game, and when Jack Hughes scored the golden goal in overtime, the Americans wasted no time parading Gaudreau’s jersey around the ice, honoring him as part of the championship team. — Jon Hoefling

Jack Hughes teeth

Team USA men’s ice hockey hero Jack Hughes slapped the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Canada, but his ear-to-ear smile was missing something in the postgame celebration.

‘My first thought was, I looked down on the ice and saw my teeth,’ Hughes said, giving media members a big toothless grin on Sunday. ‘Like, here we go again…  I know the last time that happened, wasn’t really fun.’ — Cydney Henderson, Steve Gardner