OLYMPICS: Italy bids 'arrivederci' as 'cortinas' fall on Milano Cortina Games

VERONA, Italy- Italy will bring down the curtain on two weeks of scintillating Olympic sporting action on Sunday with a closing ceremony in the ancient Verona Arena amphitheater.

The show, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (1930 GMT), is entitled "Beauty in Action" and will feature leading Italian ballet dancer Roberto Bolle and celebrate Italian art as well as sporting achievement.

With the Olympic medals won and lost, the tone is expected to be more relaxed and free-wheeling than the opening ceremony.

Italian singer Achille Lauro and DJ/producer Gabry Ponte will be there to get the party going while Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will be among the crowd.

The ceremony is being held in an open-air Roman amphitheatre renowned for staging opera and pop concerts in the heart of the northern Italian city made famous as the setting for William Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet".

Tickets were priced from 950 euros ($1,120) to a top level of 2,900 euros. The weather has been kind, with no rain forecast.

The Games, co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, have been hailed a success by new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, and the mood has been lifted by a record medal haul for the Italians.

However, protesters opposed to staging the Games are expected to demonstrate close to the Arena on Sunday.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

The Games have followed a new blueprint, with sporting events spread over a wide area of northern Italy. Feedback from athletes has been positive.

"I would say ... to Italy, I think that they did an absolutely fantastic job hosting the Olympics," said U.S. freestyle skier Christopher Lillis, praising the venues, the food and the friendly atmosphere.

"So I want to give a huge shout-out to them, because hosting the Olympics is no easy feat," added Lillis, who won a gold in the mixed team aerials event in the mountain town of Livigno.

Global political tensions surfaced at the opening ceremony in Milan's San Siro stadium when U.S. Vice President JD Vance was jeered and the Israeli team drew a smattering of boos. Olympic cauldrons have burned in co-hosts Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo since the Games opened on February 6.

These will be extinguished on Sunday but reignited for the Paralympics which run from March 6-15.

The Italian hosts will formally hand over to the French Alps, the venue for the next Winter Games in 2030.

($1 = 0.8499 euros)

(Reporting by Keith Weir and Elvira Pollina; Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Livigno;Writing by Keith Weir;Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)