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An Italian Winter Olympics broadcaster who was on the microphone for the opening ceremony before the Cortina Games in Milan began last week faced huge backlash and a strike call for several blunders during the show.
RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca had a night to forget after misidentifying the singer Mariah Carey, mistaking the boss of the Olympics as the daughter of the Italian president and confusing the location of the opening ceremony were among some of the things that worried fans and apparently journalists in the company.
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Mariah Carey performs at the Olympic Opening Ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (Andreas Rentz/Pool Photo via AP)
RaiSport journalists announced on Monday that they would adopt protest measures, including strikes, once the Winter Olympics were over on February 22.
A spokesman for Rai, the Italian state-owned network that broadcasts free-to-air coverage of its home games, told The Associated Press that Petrecca was removed from commentary at the closing ceremony after meeting with CEO Giampaolo Rossi.
Petrecca welcomed viewers to the Stadio Olimpico, located in Rome. The opening ceremony took place at the iconic football stadium, San Siro.
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Italian actress Matilda De Angelis performs during the Olympic opening ceremony at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 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 a standing ovation. 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 embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own,” read a statement from the journalists’ union, Comitato di Redazione. “It’s time to make our voice heard because we face the worst figure ever from RaiSport in one of the most anticipated events of all time.”
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 was thrown into the commentary role, replacing Auro Bulbarelli, who removed himself after spoiling Mattarella’s surprise arrival aboard one of the city’s trams.
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So far, anger appeared to have simmered, but is expected to boil over.
