INSIDE THE REHEARSAL TENT

The Olympics are often spoken of in the language of medals, records and national tallies, but their most enduring power lies elsewhere.

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Long before the first race is run or the first jump is taken, the Games announce themselves through ceremony, ritual and spectacle. In Milan, inside a cavernous rehearsal tent near the San Siro stadium, that spectacle is being assembled not by stars alone but by hundreds of ordinary people. Classically trained dancers rehearse alongside amateurs, volunteers practise steps for hours, and an entire temporary world has been built to simulate a night that will last only a few hours but will be watched by millions. It is a reminder that the Olympics, at their best, are not merely a sporting event but a collective act of imagination, one that asks a nation to present its values to the world through art, discipline and shared effort.