Mariia Seniuk (figure skating) was Israel's flag bearer and was not immediately greeted by any cheers inside the arena; instead, scattered boos were heard.
The Italian sporting public has previously been critical of Israel's participation in sport. When the countries met in the World Cup qualifiers last fall, the Italian Football Federation was fined the equivalent of 150,000 kronor for "violations of order and security" at the match.
Defied the Olympic director's appeal
The United States also heard boos from the crowd as the nation marched in, but also cheers. However, the cheers turned into a chorus of boos when the country's vice president JD Vance was zoomed in on the arena's big screen.
Security for JD Vance has been very extensive ahead of the Olympics. When he traveled to Milan, he did so with an entourage of 14 planes and around 300 security guards, according to the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said ahead of the opening ceremony that she hoped the audience would show respect and not boo the American athletes.
"I hope the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other," she said at a press conference ahead of the games.
"Five plus"
The opening ceremony also took place in Cortina, Predazzo and Livigno – reflecting that this is a uniquely distributed Olympics.
Alpine star Sara Hector carried Sweden's flag in Cortina and mogul skier Walter Wallberg was the flag bearer in Livigno.
Wallberg praised his own performance after serving as flag bearer.
"It went well, it was awesome. I give myself a five-plus. I was afraid the flag would get stuck on the pole, but it went well," he told Aftonbladet.
For the first time in history, two Olympic torches were lit. One in Milan and one in Cortina.
Alpine icons Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni lit the fire together in Milan.
In Cortina, the fire was lit by Sofia Goggia, who is still an active alpine skier.
