Turin – A famous Italian cross country skier lit the flame and a famous American ski racer appeared to need a flame lit under him as the opening ceremony of the 20th Olympic Winter Games kicked off here on a near- freezing Friday night.
Before a packed house of 35,000 people at Turin’s renovated Stadio Olimpico, Stefania Belmondo was the last of eight Italian Winter Olympic heroes to carry the torch before lighting the flame to spectacular fireworks.
It was a far livelier finish to a ceremony that included the curious entrance of skier Bode Miller, America’s most controversial Winter Olympics athlete. As the American team marched toward its place in the stadium, Miller curiously lagged lazily in the back, the only member not wearing his hat.
It didn’t qualify as an international incident. It really couldn’t on a night when Peter Gabriel’s stirring rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” had spectators from around the world openly hugging one another. But Miller’s lower-than-low-key attitude seemed to fit with an approach to the Olympics that has been characterized as disconnected. He has talked about not being concerned how well he does here and drew ire from U.S. Olympic officials recently for comments to “60 Minutes” about having skied when hung over in the past.
The rabid Italian audience never noticed Miller. Audience members were too busy cheering their heroes at the end of the 2 1/2-hour ceremony.
Entering the stadium with the flame was Alberto Tomba, the Italian icon who won three gold medals and two silvers in slalom skiing in 1988, 1992 and 1994.
He handed the flame to the 1994 4-by-10-kilometer cross country skiing relay team, which upset host Norway in Lillehammer. It then handed off to Piero Gros, who led a one-two Italian finish in the 1976 slalom in Innsbruck. He passed to slalomist Deborah Compagnoni, a four- time medalist in 1992, 1994 and 1998, before the torch was given to Belmondo, who won 10 medals in four Winter Olympics.
Preceding the classy torch- lighting ceremony was another Italian icon, Sophia Loren, leading eight white-clad women in with the Olympic flag. Joining her were other humanitarians, including American actress Susan Sarandon, a goodwill ambassador to UNICEF, and Chilean writer Isabel Allende, whose books have been translated in more than 30 languages.
Following the flag came Yoko Ono, Lennon’s widow, who told the audience, “As John Lennon said, ‘Imagine all the people living life in peace.”‘ Gabriel, whose recording label Real World has distributed ethnic music around the globe, particularly in Third World countries, silenced a roaring crowd with his version of “Imagine.”
It was a somber contrast to the ’70s disco music that accompanied the parade of athletes from 80 nations. “I Feel Good,” “Disco Inferno” and “YMCA” were just some of the tunes providing a weird backdrop for the entrance of countries ranging from Albania to Venezuela.
Some little-known flag bearers had their day in the cold. India’s giant slalomist, Neha Ahuja, is the first woman to qualify for India’s Winter Olympics team and is a former student at the University of Colorado.
Another former Colorado resident, Robel Teklemariam, carried the flag for Ethiopia. The dreadlocked cross country skier discovered skiing while attending boarding school in Lake Placid, N.Y., and became hooked when he visited the Rocky Mountains. He attended Colorado Rocky Mountain School, near Aspen, and spent eight years working as an alpine ski and snowboarding instructor for Club Med Resorts in Copper Mountain and Crested Butte.
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Friday night’s opening ceremony featured a program called “From Renaissance to Baroque,” whose performers included many turning up in surprising places. (Post / Cyrus McCrimmon) |
The biggest cheers were for Kenya, Italy and, curiously, the United States, considering that the vast majority of Italians strongly oppose the Iraq war.
The Turin Games theme, “Passion Lives Here,” was played throughout the opening ceremony by the Creative Group, led by Marco Balich.
Rhythm, Passion and Speed were the themes of the opening ceremony, as gold-clad men draped over light standards rappelled down as the fixtures turned over to form the five Olympic rings.
Passion was played out by a Chinese-style army of the future accompanied by a body-suited hero surrounded by 12 lithe ballet dancers.
Speed was exemplified when a candy-apple-red Ferrari spun doughnuts on the stage – and spun dangerously close to the mosh pit holding the certainly nervous athletes.
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-820-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
