Milan Cortina opening ceremonies will be held across four locations.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremonies begin at 8 p.m. CET and will be staged simultaneously at four locations, with Milan's San Siro stadium serving as the main venue.

The Games have already started, but many viewers are awaiting Friday's opening ceremonies. Organizers are staging the Parade of Nations and other festivities across four separate sites rather than one central stadium. The approach is driven in part by the wide geographic spread of venues across Northern Italy and by schedules for athletes competing at different locations. Milan's San Siro stadium will be the primary site for many viewers and is expected to host about 60,000 spectators. Key details: - The four sites hosting parade flagbearers and marchers are San Siro Stadium (Milan), Cortina d'Ampezzo city centre (Cortina), Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo), and Livigno Snow Park (Livigno). - The Opening Ceremonies begin at 8 p.m. CET (2 p.m. ET in the U.S.). - San Siro is expected to host roughly 60,000 spectators; announced musical performers for opening night include Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini and Andrea Bocelli, though organizers have not specified which artists will appear at which site. - The Games will feature two Olympic cauldrons, at Milan's Arco della Pace and Cortina's Piazza Dibona, and the flames will be lit simultaneously; backup torches lit in Greece are part of the relay process and the main torch passed through Cortina on Jan. 29. - Each team may have two flagbearers to allow appearances at different venues; as host nation, Italy will have four flagbearers (one at each location), and Greece will lead the parade as tradition. - U.S. coverage is listed on NBC Olympics and Peacock, and the event is also being carried by broadcasters in other countries per organizers' listings. Summary: The split-venue format is intended to reduce travel disruption for athletes while offering ceremony events across the Alps. The Parade of Nations and dual cauldron lighting are scheduled to proceed at the stated time, and organizers have published the full lineup and broadcast arrangements for viewers.