The Winter Olympics kicks off with a grand ceremony at Milan’s iconic San Siro Stadium. Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli will headline the event as viewers eagerly anticipate Team GB’s promising lineup. UK Sport projects a potential medal haul of up to eight for the British team in Italy.
Spanning various locations in northern Italy, the 25th winter games will feature celebratory events in Predazzo, Livigno, and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Team GB is poised to surpass its previous best medal count of five, achieved in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018. Ice skating duo Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear, likened to the legendary Torvill and Dean, are primed to secure the nation’s first Olympic figure skating medal since 1994. Lilah, 26, will proudly carry the flag at the opening ceremony alongside bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall.
Expectations are high for Britain’s curlers to build on their two medals from 2022, with the women clinching gold. Notably, world champion Matt Weston and his teammate Marcus Wyatt are regarded as top contenders in skeleton.
Other standout medal hopefuls include Mia Brookes, Kirsty Muir (the youngest British athlete at Beijing 2022 at just 17), Zoe Atkin, and Charlotte Bankes, all vying for the country’s first snow-related gold or silver medals.
With almost 3,000 athletes from 90 nations competing for 116 medals at Milan-Cortina, the competition will run until Feb 22 with coverage on BBC. Team GB’s 53 athletes are already in action, with Wyatt anticipated to join Weston on the men’s skeleton podium after clinching World Championship silver last year.
In addition to Weston and Tabby Stoecker teaming up for the mixed team event, Brad Hall’s sleds will compete in the men’s bobsleigh. The curlers, including Mouat and Dodds, have strong medal prospects, aiming to defend Muirhead’s women’s team gold from Beijing.