DOBBIACO, Italy — In less than five minutes, the Winter Olympics had its first live-action hiccup.
Only a few stones had been thrown Wednesday in the set of mixed doubles curling matchups that kicked off these 2026 Games when some of the lights briefly went out inside the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, dimming the arena and delaying play.
At the moment it happened, two of the four games were in between shots. Estonia’s Harri Lill was setting up for his throw when the lights dimmed, but he proceeded anyway. Sweden’s Rasmus Wranå was also about to throw but paused.
The scoreboards went out, the time clocks were stopped and play was halted on all four sheets.
Players milled about, waiting for an update. Canada’s Brett Gallant joked with his coaches. Korea’s Kim Seon-yeong and Sweden’s Isabella Wranå pretended their brooms were air guitars.
After about three minutes, the lighting resumed at full strength. When it did, a sarcastic cheer rose from the crowd. Norway’s Magnus Nedregotten gave a thumbs-up. Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds smiled. Lill applauded.
The Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium was originally built for the 1956 Olympics, hosted here. (Manuel Romano / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“That was unique, I would say,” said Bruce Mouat of Great Britain. “I think we had a little dance.”
Play ultimately resumed after a delay of a little over five minutes.
“There was a brief interruption to competition at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium due to an energy-related issue,” the organizing committee said in a statement provided to The Athletic. “The interruption lasted approximately three minutes. Power was restored immediately, and competition has since resumed and is ongoing as planned.” The committee did not clarify what caused the issue.
After all the attention on the hurried construction of a hockey arena in Milan and the sliding center in Cortina, it was the curling stadium, first built for the 1956 Winter Olympics in the city, that was the first live-play issue of the Games.
The stadium, officially known as the Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio, was built as an outdoor venue 70 years ago and was used to host figure skating and ice hockey games as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. A roof was later added and was upgraded for the 2026 Olympics.
In Milan, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena has been behind schedule in construction. It is also three feet too short and recently had holes in the ice during a test event. The Cortina Sliding Centre was also a point of controversy for its rushed construction and expense.
In Wednesday’s games, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain and Canada won their openers, and the United States and defending Olympic champion Italy debut Thursday morning.
Mixed doubles continues through Tuesday.
