The Group Chat: The cutest torch bearers

Don’t look now, but there are only 12 days until the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics Opening Ceremony. And while we can’t wait for the world-class competition on the ice and the slopes, the group chat is currently buzzing with the unmatched fanfare before the competition thanks to one massive announcement on Thursday (more on that later).

• Here are the Opening Ceremony cultural moments we’re most excited to take in — reply to this email and let us know what’s topping your list.

4. A look inside the Village

Social media lets athletes share what it’s like behind the scenes in the Olympic Village, and we can’t wait to see what goes viral this year. Who will be the Ilona Maher of Milan Cortina? Will anyone emerge as the world’s new Chocolate Muffin Man?

• On a more serious note, this year’s Olympic Village is part sightseeing extravaganza, part urban renewal and sustainability project. Love to see it.

3. The Parade of Nations ’Fit Parade

Fashion is already a major story heading into these Olympics as national teams’ brand partnerships dominate feeds (and uniform-based scandals are uncovered). Another Games in one of the world’s fashion capitals? We’re in for some truly incredible looks, like…

• 🇮🇹 The home team rocking Armani. We discuss athletes turning gameday into runways quite a bit in The Group Chat, but Armani’s taking it to another level.

• 🇺🇸 Team USA in Ralph Lauren, as always, and Skims for the fourth Games in a row. The skiers and snowboarders will also wear some particularly cool, retro-inspired Kappa uniforms and bagged a partnership with J. Crew, too.

• 🇨🇦 Canadian figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek in her Oscar de la Renta costume earlier this month, or the Team Canada x Lululemon collab living in our heads rent-free. The intense promo video still gives us chills.

2. The Queen of Christmas meets opera

The Opening Ceremony will feature two headliners: legendary pop singer Mariah Carey and world-class tenor Andrea Bocelli. It’s not clear whether they’ll perform together, but any show with two of the best singers in the world is sure to be unforgettable.

• While Carey’s inclusion feels…a tiny bit random, Bocelli is one of the world’s most famous Italians, and he certainly has proven he can go toe-to-toe with a top-notch diva.

• The main theme of the Opening Ceremony is reportedly armonia, or “harmony” in Italian, so it’s only fitting that there’s an emphasis on music — and there’s no better way to honor that than with these two acclaimed voices.

1. The Heated Rivalry boys bearing the torch

The GIST HQ’s obsession with Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams remains as strong as ever, so when news dropped on Thursday that these two would bear the Olympic torch as it makes its way to the Opening Ceremony, you know our Slack channel went wild.

• This is the latest (and most jaw-dropping) event in an unbelievable few weeks for the two actors, who shot to mega-stardom nearly overnight as the show took off with sports fans and romance readers alike.

• From relative obscurity to the Golden Globes to the literal world stage in a matter of months, the honor is a testament to the show’s outsize impact.