Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Features 4,000 Drones and One Confused Pigeon

The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics opened Friday with a ceremony that organizers described as "a celebration of human achievement, Italian heritage, and the boundless possibilities of technology." And it was, mostly, all of those things — until a single pigeon wandered into the drone formation during the grand finale, creating a moment of chaos that was visible from space and instantly became the most-watched clip on every social media platform simultaneously. The bird, now known as "Giuseppe" according to Italian Twitter, flew directly through a holographic rendering of the Olympic rings, briefly disrupting what was supposed to be a solemn tribute to international unity and turning it into something far better. NBC's commentators tried to maintain gravitas. They could not. The pigeon has since been offered three endorsement deals and an animated series.