Winter Olympics start with disco lights, power cuts and a GB curling victory

Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds gave Team GB a winning start at the Winter Olympics in mixed doubles curling – even though the lights went out.

The Scottish pair were playing Norway in their first match at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Italy.

Inside, loud music was playing and colourful disco lights flashed as the Games got under way, two full days before the opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Then, during the very first end, there was a power cut. Parts of the stadium went dark for several minutes, the scoreboards stopped working, and play had to pause while the electricity came back on. It was a strange start – and Team GB also lost that opening end.

Olympic organizers acknowledged the "brief interruption to competition due to an energy-related issue" and noted it lasted approximately three minutes. It snowed steadily all day in Cortina, with more than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in some places.

The start of the opening luge training session for men's singles was also delayed a half-hour due to the outage.

Mouat and Dodds, who are considered serious medal contenders in this event, stayed calm. In the second end they scored three points and took control of the match. From that moment on, they never fell behind again.

Bruce Mouat later said: "I didn't mind the lights going off," explaining that the disco lights in the arena had been a "bit of a boogie" and like "a rave".

Curling is a sport played on ice where players slide heavy stones towards a target on the ground. The goal is to get your stones closest to the centre of the target. Teammates sweep the ice in front of the stone to help guide it, making curling a game of teamwork and skill.

Norway, represented by husband-and-wife team Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien, kept things close. At halfway, Team GB led 4–3. After the break, Norway managed to draw level, but a brilliant throw from Jen Dodds helped Team GB score three more points in the sixth end.

That gave them a strong lead going into the final stages. Norway tried to fight back using a special tactic called the power play, but Team GB responded in the last end to seal an 8–6 win.

Dodds explained how they turned things around, saying: "It took us a bit of time to work out one end was curling more than the other, but once we did we took a step up in performance and took control from there.

"It's a good confidence builder to start the week."