Sports & Events
Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games · Italy · 2025 — 2026

Milano
Cortina 2026.

Victory Ceremonies Cluster Manager for the Cortina cluster. Four venues. Sixty ceremonies. Three hundred medals. One standard — invisible systems for visible moments.

Olympic Games Paralympic Games Cluster Management IOC/IPC Protocol Cortina d'Ampezzo
Cortina d'Ampezzo · Italy ↓ Scroll
60
Victory Ceremonies delivered across the cluster
Olympic + Paralympic · 2026
303
Olympic & Paralympic medals managed
138 OLY · 165 PARA
4
Competition venues — three sports, two Games
CCU · CSC · CAL · CSB
2,200+
Flags used across all Games venues
SEQ-calculated · MICO26
30+
Professionals in the Cortina VC team
Cluster, venue, production, FOH
6
Games editions since Rio 2007
20 years · OLY · PARA · YOG · PAN
Section 01 — Three roles, one operator Click any phase to expand
Phase 02 / 03 — The Olympics

Senior operational authority across the full Cortina cluster.

Led and managed Victory Ceremonies operations across four competition venues, three sports, and 20 Olympic medal ceremonies. I was the senior operational authority between the VC General Planner and the four Venue Coordinators reporting to me.

Managed delivery schedules for medals, gifts, podiums, flags, trays and costumes. Supervised and trained venue teams, implemented IOC/IPC protocol, coordinated the Italian Ministry of Defence flag teams, and held daily cross-functional comms with SPP, Protocol, Sport, Logistics, OBS, and IOC/IPC representatives. Accountable from the first lockdown through the Closing Ceremony.

20
Olympic ceremonies across 3 cluster venues.
138
Olympic medals managed in Cortina.
3
Direct-report VC Venue Coordinators.
Phase 03 / 03 — The Paralympics

Dual role — held cluster authority, stepped hands-on into CCU.

During the Paralympic Games I kept Cluster Manager responsibilities and stepped directly into the CCU Venue Coordinator role — running the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium operation hands-on. The dual positioning let me hold cluster-level oversight while personally managing the highest-complexity Paralympic ceremonies in Cortina.

Wheelchair Curling at CCU was operationally distinct from the Olympic version: mixed doubles and mixed teams required specific podium configurations with wheelchair-accessibility ramps, adapted staging protocols, and different timing windows. Officially listed as the primary contact in MICO26's Paralympic medal delivery system.

40
Paralympic ceremonies across 4 venues.
165
Paralympic medals managed in Cortina.
2
CCU Wheelchair Curling ceremonies personally coordinated.
Phase 01 / 03 — Build-up

First person in. Three months building the invisible system.

First member of the Cortina VC cluster on the ground in Italy — 1 November 2025, three months before Games-time. The pre-Games window was as operationally intense as the Games themselves: built the cluster's operational framework, produced the Victory Ceremonies Operational Manual distributed across MICO26, developed venue choreography documents, coordinated delivery schedules, and led the training programme for the local Italian team.

Training the Cortina cast — tray bearers, athlete leaders, presenter leaders and flag teams — across four venues meant translating IOC/IPC protocol into rehearsable movements, building contingency procedures into muscle memory, and ensuring a team that had never worked together could perform flawlessly under global broadcast. The framework built in these months was what made Games-time possible.

3 mo
Build-up on the ground in Italy before Games-time.
51
Pages — VC Operational Manual authored.
4
Venue choreography documents produced.
Section 02 — The cluster Four venues · three sports · two Games
[Drop in: Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium — interior shot with trapeze flag system.]
CCU
Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium
Curling · Wheelchair Curling
3
OLY ceremonies
2
PARA ceremonies

Indoor venue with trapeze flag system. Hosted Curling (Mixed Doubles, Men's, Women's) and Wheelchair Curling. The official MICO26 backup venue for all Cortina outdoor ceremonies under weather disruption — the only cluster venue with zero tie probability.

[Drop in: Cortina Sliding Centre — outdoor podium against the track.]
CSC
Cortina Sliding Centre
Luge · Skeleton · Bobsleigh
12
OLY ceremonies
84
OLY medals

The busiest venue in the cluster. Outdoor sliding track with 12 medal events across four disciplines and five ceremony formats. Back-to-back staging was critical — multiple ceremonies per evening required pre-staging all trays simultaneously in back-of-house. An 8% gradient on the FOP required a custom-built podium stage.

[Drop in: Tofane Alpine finish area — Dolomites backdrop with athletes on podium.]
CAL
Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre
Alpine Skiing (W) · Para Alpine Skiing
5
OLY ceremonies
30
PARA ceremonies

The most dramatic setting — ceremonies at the foot of the Dolomites. Only outdoor ceremony in the cluster exposed to real Alpine variables (wind, snow, temperature). Para Alpine was the operational peak: 30 ceremonies over 7 days, with up to 6 consecutive ceremonies in a 32-minute window.

[Drop in: Cortina Para Snowboard Park — accessibility ramps and podium.]
CSB
Cortina Para Snowboard Park
Para Snowboard
8
PARA ceremonies
24
PARA medals

Paralympic-only venue. Para Snowboard covers SB-LL1, SB-LL2 and SB-UL athlete categories across Snowboard Cross and Banked Slalom. Wheelchair-accessibility configurations throughout, with landing blocks and ramps as additional podium components not present in Olympic ceremonies.

Section 03 — Invisible systems What I built · how it ran
The operation

Invisible systems for visible moments.

The athlete on the podium shouldn't think about logistics. The anthem should feel inevitable. The flags should rise as though they've always known when to stop. That is what a Victory Ceremony looks like when it works — and it only works because an invisible system underneath is running perfectly.

Building that system — across four venues, two Games editions, twelve medal sports, sixty ceremonies — was the work. From the first delivery window in February to the final Paralympic ceremony in March, every element was pre-planned, rehearsed, and backed by a documented contingency.

Back-to-back staging

At CSC, multiple ceremonies per session required pre-staging all trays, flags and podiums simultaneously in back-of-house — compressing broadcast gaps to seconds, not minutes.

DIPAC contingency protocol

CCU was the official MICO26 backup for all Cortina outdoor ceremonies. If weather prevented delivery at CAL or CSB, ceremonies moved to CCU. The team held dual readiness throughout.

IOC/IPC script compliance

Every ceremony ran on a numbered cue sheet — 20+ cues, three languages, synchronised across announcer, DJ, flag team, tray bearers, athlete leaders and OBS. Zero improvisation.

The cascade

303 medals delivered. Every one exactly right.

Each Olympic medal at Milano Cortina 2026 was engraved with the event name. There is no substitution. There is no "close enough." The medal in the tray bearer's hands — on the tray she has been trained to hold perfectly level — is the only one that exists for that moment.

The flag identification system — white strap with a three-letter NOC code and an orientation arrow — was designed to make the right choice obvious and the wrong choice almost impossible. Flag quantities per venue were SEQ-calculated with backup formulas. Delivery windows compressed from 15 days to 24 hours as Games-time approached.

Over 2,200 flags were used across the Games. At least 303 of them flew at our four venues. Each one raised by a military team I had trained, on a system I had overseen, to mark a moment no athlete forgets.

5 min
Average ceremony duration — window with no margin for error.
9+
Functional areas coordinated per ceremony (SPP, PRT, SPT, LOG, OBS, DOP, BRS, TEC, EVM).
3
Languages — every announcement: French, English, Italian.
Section 04 — Anatomy of a Victory Ceremony From back-of-house to the podium · 8 stages
01
–60 min · Pre-staging
Flags, medals, podium

Flags ironed, counted, alphabetically ordered. Medals and gifts verified against official result. Podium transported to holding area near FOP.

02
–20 min · Green room
Athletes briefed

Athletes briefed on ceremony flow by Athlete Leaders. IOC/IPC and IF presenters met by Presenter Leader. Rule 50 check (no phones, correct NOC uniform).

03
–1 min · Line-up
All hands in formation

All participants queue in VC staging area in order: Presenter Leader → presenters → Athlete Leaders → athletes → tray bearers. Flag team moves to poles or trapeze.

04
Cue 03 · Walk-in
Processional to FOP

Processional on SPP cue. Announcer: French → English → Italian. Athletes approach from designated direction.

05
Cues 10 — 15 · Medal & gift
Bronze, silver, gold

IOC/IPC presenter awards medal. IF presenter awards gift (mascot). Each tray bearer walks backwards. No bowing. Tray always level.

06
Cue 16 · Anthem & flags
42 — 98 seconds

Gold nation's anthem plays. All turn to face the flags. Military team hoists three flags — Gold higher than Silver and Bronze. Hoist speed calibrated to anthem length.

07
Cue 20 · Photo & selfie
The picture

Gold medallist invites others to top podium. OBS pool photo. Samsung Selfie Moment: Athlete Leader hands phone to closest medallist.

08
Cue 20+ · Walk-out
Clear the FOP

Athletes exit opposite direction from entry. Presenters wait until athletes clear to avoid crossing flows. Tray bearers exit after 1st gold photo. Flag team exits last.

Both careers · one principle

"The athlete on the podium shouldn't think about logistics. The listener who discovers a song shouldn't think about content budgets. Both exist to create a feeling — and feelings only happen when the infrastructure disappears completely."

Gabriel Lupi · Six Olympic & Pan American Games · 20 years of invisible systems

Section 05 — Team structure The Cortina VC cluster · Olympics
Cluster manager
VC Cluster Manager · Cortina
Gabriel Lupi
CCU · CSC · CAL · CSB — senior operational authority across the full cluster.
Venue coordinators
VC Venue Coordinator
Doug Seay
CCU — Curling
VC Venue Coordinator
Carlos Dunn
CSC — Sliding
VC Venue Coordinator
Micaela Cespedes
CAL — Alpine Skiing
Coordinator assistants
VC Coordinator Assistant
Beatriz Cohen
CCU
VC Coordinator Assistant
Jee Isram
CSC
VC Coordinator Assistant
Paola Roversi
CAL
Production assistants
Production Manager + 2 PAs
Juan Brignone · Gabriele Hora · Erica Rizzi
CCU — split shift system
Production Manager + 2 PAs
Ignacio Trinanes · Mirko Moretto · Gino Mez
CSC
Production Manager + 2 PAs
Yelena Loubaki · Giuliana Bernardi · Antonio Carbone
CAL
Front of house
Athlete Leaders · Presenter Leaders · Tray Bearers · Flag Team
Local Italian cast — trained by the cluster team
17 people per ceremony at CCU (6 tray bearers · 2 athlete leaders · 1 presenter leader · 1 PA · 7 flag team) · Ministry of Defence flag personnel at all venues.
Section 06 — From the Games Behind the ceremonies · Cortina 2026 + 20-year archive
Section 07 — Six editions 20 years of Games operations
The arc

Six Games. Twenty years. One operator.

From the first Pan American Games team in Rio 2007 to the Winter cluster in Cortina 2026 — six editions across Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic and Pan American formats, every one a Victory Ceremonies role.

2007 · Rio
Pan American Games

First Games edition. Victory Ceremonies team.

2016 · Rio
Olympic & Paralympic Games

Olympic Park Cluster Manager. Largest medal-giving operation in Olympic history.

4,833 medals · 827 ceremonies · 500 volunteers
2018 · Buenos Aires
Youth Olympic Games

Managed 1,250 medals and 239 ceremonies across 12 teams.

300+ volunteers trained
2019 · Lima
Pan American Games

Victory Ceremonies operations · Lima, Peru.

2020 · Lausanne
Winter Youth Olympic Games

Victory Ceremonies specialist · first winter edition.

2026 · Milano Cortina
Winter Olympic & Paralympic Games

VC Cluster Manager — Cortina. Four venues, two Games, sixty ceremonies.

303 medals · CCU · CSC · CAL · CSB