Opening Ceremony of the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games

Sparks of Passion

An evening to remember, followed by two billion spectators in the whole world, 13 million of them Italian. It was the Opening Ceremony of the XX Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, which took place on Friday 10 at the Olympic Stadium: light games, breathtaking choreographies, moments of great spectacle and then the parade of national delegations, once again united by the sport’s values of peace and fraternity. Three hours of partying, enriched by the presence of numerous international and Italian guests on the stage and heads of state and government on the stands, together with 35 thousand spectators.

The Sparks of Passion set the stadium alight, Andrea Varnier (Image and Event director for TOROC) and Marco Balich (executive producer for the K2006 Ceremonies, the FilmMaster Group companies which have the responsibility of producing the Ceremonies) had pre-announced a show born to join all the artistic segments with a single creative element. The ceremony did not betray expectations, in the spirit of the keywords indicated on the eve: rhythm, passion and speed. A trinomial present in the first few minutes with the extraordinary eye catcher of the Sparks of Passion, skaters entering the scene “on fire” immediately after the appearance of Yuri Chechi, in the vests of a original Shaman giving the cue for the show. After that, mass choreographies with over 4 thousand volunteers who formed a giant red heart, followed then by ad hoc routines dedicated to the mountains, with dancing cows and pines saying hello to the Alps to the notes of the Occitan Hymn.

Among the most exciting moments, the raising of the flag by Giorgio Armani, with the model from Torino Carla Bruni and the athletes’ parade, which lasted nearly an hour with the standing ovation of the public upon the entrance of the Italian delegation. Immediately after, the show continued with music and choreographies dedicated to the history of the country, from the Rinascimento to the Baroque, Futurism, represented by the star of the Scala theatre Roberto Bolle, in the guise of a man from the future with as much as a red crest on his head.

Passion Lives Here

The world famous dancer was only one of the many celebrities taking part in the evening, including Giorgio Albertazzi, Yoko Ono and Peter Gabriel (interpreting an original version of ‘Imagine’), Sofia Loren and Susan Sarandon (the actresses carried the Olympic flag) and Luciano Pavarotti (who concluded the evening with Nessun Dorma). Very exciting show and sport, concentrated on the spectacular lighting of the Olympic Cauldron, by hand of Stefania Belmondo.

The TOROC president Valentino Castellani remembered how the “opening ceremony of the evening is a glimpse of the show we will offer the world in the next two weeks of competitions. We have seen an extraordinary show of creativity which managed to transmit the passion which animates our peoples in a majestic and not rhetorical manner, alternating high and touching moments, moments of pure esthetical pleasure and other of absolute entertainment”.

On February 26, there will be a replica with the Closing Ceremony which will have the carnival and circus as conducting themes, proposing the atmospheres and suggestion of Fellini films. Athletes and spectators will be joined in spirit by a universal embrace, re-proposing the ritual of the extinguishing of the Olympic Flame and renewing the rendezvous to the following edition of the Games.

Some of the logistics for the ceremonies: