site.btaPresident Iotova to Attend Opening of 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics

Bulgaria's President Iliana Iotova will visit Italy to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games at the invitation of International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry, the head of State's Press Secretariat said on Thursday.

At this year’s Winter Games, Bulgaria will be represented by 20 athletes competing in biathlon, alpine snowboarding, alpine skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, and figure skating.

On Thursday, Iotova will attend an official reception given by the IOC President for heads of State and leaders of national Olympic committees.

On February 6, the Bulgarian President will be received by her Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, at the Royal Palace in Milan, where a reception dedicated to the opening of the Winter Olympics will take place. Later that day, Iotova will attend the official opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium, where the Games will be formally launched and the Olympic flame lit.

During her visit, the President will also tour the Olympic Village in Milan and meet with Bulgarian athletes.

As part of the visit, she will pay tribute to a bas-relief of Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in San Paolo Square in the city of Monza. The sculpture, created by artist Boris Borisov and donated by the Municipality of Karlovo to Milan last year, is the first monument to Levski in Italy, the press release said.

On January 20, the Executive Committee of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) approved the composition of the Bulgarian delegation for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Athletes from the country won 20 quota places for the Games that will take place from February 6 to 22. The delegation includes a total of 51 members, excluding delegation leaders, BOC President-elect Vesela Lecheva and Secretary General Danail Dimov.