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An Italian Winter Olympics announcer who was on the microphone during the opening ceremony before the Milan Cortina Games began last week faced immense backlash and a strike call for numerous errors during the program.
RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca had a night to forget after misidentifying singer Mariah Carey, confusing the head of the Olympic Games with the daughter of the Italian president and confusing the location of the opening ceremony were some of the things that distressed fans and, apparently, the company’s journalists.
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Mariah Carey performs at the Olympic Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, February 6, 2026. (Andreas Rentz/Pool photo via AP)
RaiSport journalists announced on Monday that they would take protest measures, including strikes, once the Winter Olympics end on February 22.
A spokesman for Rai, the Italian state network that broadcasts free coverage of its home Games, told The Associated Press that Petrecca was removed from closing ceremony remarks after meeting with CEO Giampaolo Rossi.
Petrecca welcomed spectators to the Olympic Stadium, located in Rome. The opening ceremony took place at the iconic San Siro football stadium.
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Italian actress Matilda De Angelis performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
“The show goes on with Mariah Carey,” Petrecca said as the camera panned to actress Matilda De Angelis. The actress took it in stride, writing in a subsequent Instagram post, “Please call me Mariah.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella entered the stadium with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry to applause. The two were close to US Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha. Mattarella described Coventry as Mattarella’s daughter.
“We have all been shamed, no one has been excluded and it is not our fault,” reads a statement from the journalists’ union, Comitato di Redazione. “It’s time to make our voice heard because we are facing RaiSport’s worst figure in one of the most anticipated events in history.”
The union said there would be three days of strikes after the Games ended.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, left, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, center, wave during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Petrecca took on the role of commentator, replacing Auro Bulbarelli, who retired after spoiling Mattarella’s surprise arrival aboard one of the city’s trams.
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For now, the anger appeared to have simmered, but it is expected to boil over.
