The Opening Ceremony
The Pre-Show, conducted by Piero Chiambretti, starts at 19.00
Spectator information for entering the Stadium
Everything’s ready for the Opening Ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games. The long-awaited show, that has had the collaboration of more than 3500 volunteers and around 250 staff, will begin at 20.00 on Friday, February 10th.
The evening will begin at 19.00 with a pre-show, but people can start entering the Stadium at 16.00 to allow for the arrival of patrons and all security checks.
With a large number of spectators expected (the stadium seats 35,000), patrons are urged to get to the stadium at least two hours ahead of time, as entry after this time may be difficult. The entrances for the public will be exclusively those that open onto Piazza d’Armi: access will be both from the side of Corso IV Novembre and Corso Galileo Ferraris. A disabled access is available at the corner of Corso Giovanni Agnelli and Corso Sebastopoli.
The pre-show, which will entertain spectators as they enter, will be conducted by the popular master of ceremonies Piero Chiambretti. From 7pm, prior to the start of the Ceremony, the master of ceremonies will provide information to spectators about their interaction in the evening and the objects placed under each seat. The audience will be ushered into the evening’s Olympic spirit with images of past Olympics, a testimony by skiing champion Gustav Thoeni and the Sparks of Passion, icons of Torino 2006.
After 15 years, the stage is set for the Olympic Stadium (the ex-“Comunale”), built in the 1930s, to be re-born, welcoming hundreds of millions of television viewers from around the world to the XX edition of the Olympic Winter Games.
Patrons of the Opening Ceremony are urged to use public transport, which will be suitably reinforced, in order to avoid traffic congestion and parking difficulties.
The public is advised to follow the instructions given in the spectator’s guide “Guida dello Spettatore”, distributed with tickets, or available at www.torino2006.org Patrons of the Opening Ceremony are urged to use public transport, which will be suitably reinforced, in order to avoid traffic congestion and parking difficulties.
Spectators are also kindly requested to avoid bringing backpacks and bags in order to limit the waiting time for security screening. Patrons are encouraged to bring a plastic bag, in which metallic objects and mobile phones can be placed and quickly checked by security staff while passing through the security screening. All patrons without bags will be able to enter the stadium area through dedicated entry points.
Feb 9 2006
The 20th Olympic Winter Games are set to start today in Turin, Italy.

Producers of the Olympics have promised, "rhythm, passion and speed," as an estimated 35,000 people will pile inside the stadium and nearly two billion will turn out for the events.

Dancers, abutting the majestic Alps, paid a tribute to seven nations, including Austria, Germany and France, in the opening ceremonies wearing green sheaths and pulling fake cows on wheels. It was to pay homage to livestock and mountain life, and so the audience could cheer both, everyone was supplied with cowbells. Dancers then brought out big white bubbles which were stuck to their heads. Bacilli, who has performed in concerts for ''U2'' and ''The Rolling Stones'' said the balls signify snow.

Eight women, Italian actress Sophia Loren, Chilean writer Isabel Allende, American actress Susan Sarandon, Nobel Peace-prize winner Wangari Maathai of Kenya, and three Olympic medal winners carried the Olympic flag.  This was the first time ever that only women carried the flag.

At least 6,100 volunteers who worked an estimated 10,000 hours helped to organize and run the ceremonies.

Unfortunately, in the hours before the games were to start, eight cross-country skiers, a former gold medalist from Germany, and two Americans, were suspended for five days each after they failed blood tests. The tests say that they had elevated levels of hemoglobin, an enzyme within red blood cells that can increase endurance. However, the positives results could be due to the body's acclimation to mountain air, or dehydration. The American skiers are Kikkan Randall of Anchorage Alaska, and Leif Zimmermann of Bozeman, Montana.