At the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, which was held at the San Siro Stadium and in connection with the other venues of these “widespread” Olympics, Ghali recited a poem by Gianni Rodari.
AND Memorandumis taken from The second book of nursery rhymes and it is precisely a reminder of the fact that certain choices are simpler than you think. For example, choosing not to go to war.
During the ceremony, Rodari's children's classic was recited in Italian and translated into English and French, but not into Arabic, as Ghali would have liked, who wrote yesterday: «I know why they asked me to recite a poem about peace. I know it could have contained more than one language. I know that one language, Arabic, was too many at the end.”
Ghali was not framed in the foreground, but only in long shots together with the dance troupe that accompanied him. It was not mentioned by commentators in the introduction of the performance, which was presented as “the moment when we talk about the Olympic spirit and peace”.
“There are things you should never do,
neither day nor night,
neither by sea nor by land:
for example, war.”
Gianni Rodari – read by Ghali #openingceremony pic.twitter.com/x8ropqdNm8— MC (@Virus1979C) February 6, 2026
There are things to do every day:
wash, study, play,
prepare the table,
at noon.
There are things to do at night:
close your eyes, sleep,
have dreams to dream,
ears so as not to hear.
There are things you should never do,
neither day nor night,
neither by sea nor by land:
for example, war.
