As part of the campaign a brochure called Light Up the Games has been produced as a guide for those intending to apply.

It calls upon applicants to display the "Italian spirit" and Olympic and Paralympic values in their bids.

"it is important that the athletes experience both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies which are significant moments of their Games experience," the 30 page briefing documents state.

The Olympic Opening Ceremony is scheduled to take place on February 6 at the historic San Siro Stadium in Milan.

Both Olympic Closing and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies are to be held in the Arena di Verona on February 22 and March 6 in 2026, respectively.

The Paralympic Closing Ceremony is set for Cortina D’Ampezzo on March 15 in 2026. 

"The geographical spread and the context will offer a new scenario from any previous editions," the tender instructions continue.

"The experience of the athletes and all other clients will be quite different considering the extensive length of their door-to-door journey to reach the Ceremony locations.

"To ensure the strategic success of the Ceremonies, it is crucial to consider and evaluate any creative solutions that enable involving all the different clusters."

Those submitting tenders will be asked for an "initial presentation of the general creative approach and vision for the relevant Ceremonies, aligned with the visual identity and vision of the Games."

This is to include references for the artistic direction and ceremony creative team and project team.

The budgetary details are to include breakdowns on costs of specific areas such as artistic production, creativity, technology, workforce and administration.

The tenders are also to include information on how "protocol" elements will be dealt with in the Games.

In 2006 at the last Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony on Italian soil was held at Turin’s Olympic Stadium.

Singer and fashion model Carla Bruni carried the Italian flag into the Stadium two years before she married Nicolas Sarkozy while he was President of France.

An all-female colour party for the Olympic Flag included actresses Sophia Loren, Susan Sarandon and Isabelle Allende all chosen for their impact on society.

There were also performances from Luciano Pavarotti, Yoko Ono and Peter Gabriel.

The brief stipulates that bids for Milan Cortina 2026 "be complemented by a storyboard, a video and ideally references for artists, with cost estimates included in the proposed budget, as well as choice of technologies."

Applicants for producing the Olympic Opening, Closing and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies must possess "consolidated experience in planning, organising and staging Olympic Games Ceremonies (at least in two different editions or two ceremonies in one edition)."

The would be producers of the Paralympic Closing Ceremony must have "consolidated experience in planning, organising and staging large sport event ceremonies."

Bids are also to be sought for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays.

Here the requirement is listed as "consolidated experience in planning, organising and staging major sport and roadshow/itinerary events (preferably Olympic Torch Relay)"

Any group is permitted to bid for more than one of the projects but "a maximum of three lots listed can be awarded to one contractor."

Tenders are to be made by an online process with the closing date for applications set at August 28,

To read the full tender brief click here.