Boy forced off bus in snow to play a role in Winter Olympics opening ceremony

A child who was forced off a bus in the snow in northern Italy for not having the full fare will play a part in the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, his mother said.

Riccardo Z, an 11-year-old boy from a town less than 20 kilometres from Cortina d'Ampezzo, did not have enough money for a bus fare surcharge introduced by the local transport company for the Olympics and had to walk six kilometres home in sub-zero, snowy weather, triggering outrage from parents and local authorities.

After the incident the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation contacted the family and offered the boy a symbolic role in the opening ceremony.

"I've never seen him so happy and excited," his mother Sole Vatalano told Italian state broadcaster RAI 1. "It was the most beautiful gift they could have given him."

The boy's story attracted nationwide media coverage in Italy, amid concern about price gouging for the February 6-22 Games.

The Foundation has not disclosed the nature of the role for Riccardo, who is himself part of a junior skiing team.

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games will be the first Olympics jointly hosted by different venues.

Over 1,300 performers, including around 1,200 volunteers from 27 countries, have been preparing for months for the opening ceremony in a rehearsal tent near Milan's historic San Siro stadium.

San Siro, however, will not be the only stage of the show on Friday night.

Sharing the global spotlight with the Lombardy capital Milan will be several ski resorts across northern Italy: co-host Cortina, Livigno in Valtellina and Predazzo in the Trento province, marking the first "widespread ceremony" in the history of the Games.