Mariah Carey performs at Milan Winter Olympics opening ceremony
The American pop star sang "Volare" in Italian and "Nothing Is Impossible" at San Siro Stadium, wearing a custom Roberto Cavalli gown and $15 million in diamonds.
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Mariah Carey performed at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan on Friday, singing the Italian classic "Volare" and her own track "Nothing Is Impossible" at San Siro Stadium.
Carey took the stage in a sparkling white Roberto Cavalli gown with a matching feather cape, delivering her rendition of "Volare," which was originally composed and sung by Italian artist Domenico Modugno in 1958. She hit a whistle note during the performance before transitioning to "Nothing Is Impossible," a ballad from her latest album, "Here for It All."
The singer wore a custom suite of emerald-cut diamond jewelry valued at $15 million, courtesy of Levuma. Her necklace, set with a 20-carat diamond pendant, weighed 185 carats alone. Her matching bracelet and earrings totaled 55 and 66 carats respectively, all set in platinum. In total, Carey wore 306 carats of diamonds.
Although Carey is not Italian, she has a connection to the country's musical tradition through her mother, Patricia, who was a Juilliard-trained opera singer. In her autobiography, Carey recalled listening to her mother at age 3 as she struggled with an aria from Verdi's "Rigoletto." Carey said she sang the aria back to her mother in perfect Italian, an experience she described as a formative moment in her recognition as a musician.
Opening ceremonies creative director Marco Balich revealed in January that Carey would perform "a beautiful song in Italian," saying "She will enchant many of us." Olympic organizers announced her appearance in December, stating that the singer-songwriter "perfectly embodies the emotional spirit of the games" and that her participation "further underscores the international breadth of the ceremony."