Vance, Rubio to attend Winter Olympics opening ceremony

US Vice President JD Vance will lead an American delegation to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and attend the opening ceremony, the White House said on Saturday. Vance will be joined by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, second lady Usha Vance, US Ambassador Tilman Fertitta and a group of Olympic gold medalists, the White House said in a statement. The Milan Cortina Games kick off on February 6.

The opening ceremony’s Parade of Nations will feature athletes led by the national flagbearers not only in Milan’sSan Siro stadium, which will be packed with 60,000 spectators, but also, for the first time in Olympic history, in three other locations: the mountain venues of Cortina, Predazzo and Livigno. US President Donald Trump isn’t on the list of members of the delegation.

The athletes in the Olympic delegation include Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando, twin sisters who were members of the ice hockey team that won in 2018. Figure skater Evan Lysacek and Apolo Ohno, who won gold twice in short track speed skating, will also join.