With 16 ceremonies over seven Olympics under his belt, Marco Balich, the creative lead of the team behind the opening extravaganza for the 25th Winter Games in northern Italy on Friday, has learned a thing or two about engaging global audiences.
A longtime producer and creative director, Mr. Balich knows what it takes to design and pull off a spectacle that showcases a country’s heritage, promotes the Olympic spirit and celebrates the hundreds of athletes who have trained and sweated their way onto their national teams. All while entertaining and — he hopes — inspiring spectators in the stadium and a global audience watching at home.
These Olympics hold special importance for Mr. Balich, 63, since they are centered in Milan, the city where he is based. Last month, he sat for an interview in his office, just off a canal-lined street in the city center. His studio was scattered with souvenirs from past projects — an immersive show about the Sistine Chapel blessed by the Vatican, a temporary Disney theme park in Saudi Arabia, the 121-foot-tall centerpiece of the Expo Milano 2015 fairgrounds.
“The secret to a beautiful ceremony is to say something meaningful, using concepts that are easy to understand,” and express them “in a super-spectacular way,” he said.
He also sought to make it resonate globally. “Everyone is watching, from South Africa to Alaska,” with a potential audience of 2.2 billion people, he said.
And of course, if problems arise, “Always have a plan B.”
This year’s Olympic opening comes with a logistical twist: For the first time, it will take place in four locations where athletes will be competing: the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the mountain towns of Livigno and Predazzo.
The raising of the Olympic flag and the lighting of the cauldron — staples of every opening ceremony — will take place simultaneously in Milan and Cortina. Organizers said that having multiple ceremonies would allow all the athletes to participate regardless of where they are.
“A noble and great objective,” Mr. Balich said, “but from the point of view of the creative direction it’s been a nightmare.” He smiled.
Without giving away spoilers, Mr. Balich said that Friday’s ceremonies would consist of three sections, celebrating Italy, the athletes and peace.
“We’re doing a big pull on peace,” he said, which will nod to the ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic truce, which calls for a moment of calm amid conflicts. Mr. Balich said he felt particularly strongly about the peace section, having been raised in Venice by parents who lived through the Second World War and instilled in him an understanding of the “horrors of war.”
“Symbols are important, and the Olympic flame and the Olympic rings represent a symbol that isn’t contaminated by factions of war or religion,” he said, adding: “This is a marvelous thing that should be protected.”
For clues as to how Mr. Balich will celebrate Italy, look no further than the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2006 Turin Games, the last time the country hosted an Olympics, where he served as executive producer and creative director. The show featured over-the-top mash-ups of all things Italian, including the famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti in his final public performance and a Formula 1 Ferrari spinning on ice.
This year, he said, he aimed to portray Italy “in a slightly more original way.” He also hoped “to connect with Gen Z.”
Mr. Balich worked as a rock promoter and producer of music videos before joining one of Italy’s top advertising and events companies. It won the bid to design the flag handover ceremony at the end of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, his first Olympic foray. After the Turin Games, he designed the flag handover at the London Olympics in 2012 and was executive producer for the 2016 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.
By then, Mr. Balich had his own company, which also worked on the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and later Olympics in Tokyo (2021) and Beijing (2022).
Mr. Balich still buzzes with enthusiasm for the challenge of pulling off large-scale events. But he could soon trade it in for a different sort of spectacle, Italian politics. The Italian news media reports that he is considering a run for mayor of Venice.
He didn’t deny the reports, saying, “I’d like to be a public servant.”
For now, he’s busy rustling some 1,200 volunteers who have been rehearsing their parts in Friday’s show for months.
On a recent afternoon, Damiano Michieletto, a director known for his opera stagings who is part of Mr. Balich’s creative team for the Games, was marching some 240 volunteers through their paces in a park next to San Siro stadium, the hub of the Milan opening ceremony.
“Volunteers give you back a very special enthusiasm that coincides with the Olympic spirit, which is that of participation,” Mr. Michieletto said. “It’s what makes the difference.”
Mr. Balich noted that designing an opening ceremony is a team effort. However, he laughed, “If something goes wrong, I get the blame.”
Elisabetta Povoledo is a Times reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years.
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