She has just finished her annual domination of the holiday charts, but Mariah Carey is already looking ahead to her next global stage.
The Grammy-winning superstar has been confirmed as the first major performer for the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Set to take place on February 6 at Milan’s legendary San Siro Olympic Stadium, the performance marks a high-profile start to the Milano Cortina Games.
Carey, 56, broke the news herself in a video posted to Instagram on Monday, trading her usual holiday attire for a glamorous red dress and diamond necklace.
"Ciao. Get ready for Milano Cortina 2026," she told fans in the clip.
"See you at the Stadium San Siro on the 6th of February for the Olympic opening ceremony. Ci vediamo a Milano."
'Harmony' and Italian spirit
The choice of Carey is a deliberate move by the local organizing committee to tap into a sense of global unity.
In a statement shared with NBC, organizers explained that the singer "fully represents the emotional atmosphere that accompanies the run-up to the Games."
The ceremony is being helmed by creative director Marco Balich, a veteran of large-scale artistic productions.
According to the committee, the event will centre around the theme of "harmony"—a concept they believe Carey embodies perfectly.
"Music is a universal language that attracts different stories and sensibilities, and intertwines with the opening ceremony’s theme of harmony," the committee stated in a press release.
The show promises to highlight "Italian spirit, innovation and emotion," setting the tone for the weeks of competition that follow.
While Carey kicks things off in Milan, the closing ceremony duties will fall to a homegrown talent.
Ballet star Roberto Bolle is scheduled to headline the finale on February 22 at the historic Roman arena in Verona.
Following in giant footsteps
The intersection of pop icons and athletic prowess has become a staple of modern Olympic ceremonies.
Carey’s upcoming appearance follows the incredibly high bar set during the Paris 2024 Summer Games, where Lady Gaga delivered a cabaret-style number and Céline Dion made a triumphant, emotional return to the stage on the Eiffel Tower.
For Carey, the Milan performance continues a period of intense professional activity.
After a relatively quiet few years in the recording studio, she released Here for It All in September—her 16th studio album and her first full-length release in eight years.
She followed the album launch with a 10-date residency, "Mariah Carey’s Christmas Time," at Dolby Live in Las Vegas, which wrapped up earlier this month.
Reflecting on the residency just a day before the Olympic announcement, she posted to social media: "Thank you to everyone who made Christmastime possible in Vegas. I enjoyed that!"
Now, she prepares to trade the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip for the snow of the Italian Alps.
