United States Vice President JD Vance will head the American presidential delegation at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on 6 February, the White House has confirmed, as the International Olympic Committee dismissed calls to exclude the United States from the Games.
Vance will attend the ceremony alongside Second Lady Usha Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and United States Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta. The delegation will also include former Olympic champions Jocelyne Lamoureux Davidson and Monique Lamoureux Morando, gold medallists with the United States women’s ice hockey team at PyeongChang 2018, as well as figure skating Olympic champion Evan Lysacek and two-time Olympic gold medallist Apolo Ohno.
President Donald J. Trump Announces Presidential Delegation to Milan, Italy to attend the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games
— White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) January 17, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
01/17/26
President Donald J. Trump Announces Presidential Delegation to Milan, Italy to attend the Opening Ceremony… pic.twitter.com/A9m2tQiFso
The White House confirmed that Donald Trump will not attend the opening ceremony and is not listed among the members of the delegation. The announcement comes amid growing international debate over whether sporting sanctions should be imposed on the United States following a recent military operation in Venezuela.
International Olympic Committee rejects requests to ban US from Winter Games over Venezuela strike https://t.co/4DLU3zpHGM pic.twitter.com/sbSbQIyzMW
— New York Post (@nypost) January 17, 2026
In response to calls from politicians and commentators in several countries, the IOC issued a firm statement rejecting any move to bar American athletes from Olympic competition. Quoted by BBC Sport, the IOC stressed that sport must remain separate from political disputes, describing the Olympic Movement as a force for unity in a world marked by conflict and division.
The IOC reiterated that it does not involve itself in political matters between states, underlining that managing the political context surrounding each edition of the Olympic Games is complex, but outside its remit. The organisation emphasised that decisions related to international relations and conflicts belong to the political sphere, not to sport.
In the United Kingdom, a group of Members of Parliament recently tabled Early Day Motion 2565 in the House of Commons, calling on international sporting bodies to consider excluding the United States from major competitions until it demonstrates compliance with international law. While the motion is not legally binding, it has fuelled comparisons with sanctions previously imposed on Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine.
IOC sources, however, rejected such comparisons, explaining that the situation involving Russia differed due to breaches of the Olympic Charter, including the takeover of Ukrainian territory and the placement of athletes under the control of the Russian Olympic Committee. The IOC confirmed that no action is being taken against the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee or Team USA.
The Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony will feature a unique format for the Winter Games. While the main event will be held at Milan’s San Siro stadium, with an expected attendance of around 60,000 spectators, the traditional Parade of Nations will also take place simultaneously in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Predazzo and Livigno. The Winter Olympics will run from 6 to 22 February, with competitions staged across Milan and northern Italy.
