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An Italian Winter Olympics broadcaster who was on the microphone at the opening ceremony before the start of the Milan Cortina Games last week faced immense backlash and a call for strike action over numerous errors during the broadcast.
RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca had a night to forget after misidentifying singer Mariah Carey, mistaking the Olympics official for the Italian president’s daughter and confusing the location of the opening ceremony, among the things that distressed fans and, apparently, the company’s journalists.
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Mariah Carey performs during the 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 adopt protest measures, including strikes, once the Winter Olympics end on February 22.
A spokesperson for Rai, the Italian public broadcaster that broadcasts free-to-air coverage of its national 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 San Siro football stadium.
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Italian actress Matilda De Angelis performs during the opening ceremony of 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 later Instagram post: “Please call me Mariah.”
Italian President Sergio Mattarella entered the stadium with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry to applause. The two men were in close proximity to US Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha. Mattarella described Coventry as Mattarella’s daughter.
“We were all embarrassed, no one was excluded and through no fault of ours,” read a statement from the journalists’ union, Comitato di Redazione. “It’s time to make our voices heard as we face RaiSport’s worst ever figure in one of the most anticipated events of all time.”
The union said there would be a three-day strike after the end of the Games.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry, left, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella, center, salute during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, February 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Petrecca was assigned the role of commentator, replacing Auro Bulbarelli, who withdrew after spoiling Mattarella’s surprise arrival aboard one of the city’s trams.
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For now, the anger appears to have simmered but is expected to boil over.
