Fear and Hall named 2026 Team GB flagbearers

Bobsledder Brad Hall and figure skater Lilah Fear will be Team GB flagbearers at the opening ceremony of Milan-Cortina 2026 on Friday.

There will be two separate ceremonies – one in Milan at the San Siro football stadium, home of AC Milan and Inter, and one in Cortina.

Fear will carry the flag in Milan, where the figure skating events take place, while Hall will be in Cortina, closer to where the sliding competitions will happen.

Both said they were astonished when asked by Team GB chef de mission Eve Muirhead to fulfil the role.

“The location was questionable, I was walking to lunch and took a call from Eve. I was given a phone, and she asked if I would accept,” said Fear.

“I immediately started crying, I had to find a wall so I could hide my emotions. I am so full of pride and it was difficult not to tell anyone, I’m such a chatterbox.”

“I was doing some stretching in the gym, when Eve came up to me shyly,” added Hall. “I thought something would be wrong. It then flipped, to something that was an honour.”

Hall is the most successful men’s bobsleigh pilot in British history with 30 World Cup medals and is competing at his third Olympics.

He follows in the footsteps of fellow bobsledder Stuart Parkinson, who carried the flag for Team GB at the opening ceremony of the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Meanwhile Fear becomes the first British ice dancer to bear the flag since Christopher Dean at Sarajevo 1984, where he won ice dance gold with Jayne Torvill.

Fear and partner Lewis Gibson are hoping to win Britain’s first Olympic figure skating medal since Torvill and Dean earned bronze at Lillehammer 1994, having won World Championship bronze in 2025.

“I’ll take those good vibes, I learned that statistic today,” Fear said of Dean carrying the flag in 1984.

Fear said it was “bittersweet” to have the teams split up in different opening ceremonies but said it would represent the “unity” of Team GB across the villages.

Both are also in the unusual situation of competing in team events but carrying the flag on their own.

“It was received well by my team-mates, I think some of them knew I would be nominated,” said Hall.

“Lewis is so proud of me, I represent both of us,” added Fear. “And it is exciting to represent skating.”

Being the flagbearer represents a logistical issue for Fear, who will be competing on the morning of the ceremony in the opening day of the figure skating team event.

“It’s going to be a long day, no way around that,” she said. “We compete around 10am, then we will cheer on team-mates.

“Then I might have an hour to sort my hair and make-up out!”

Hall and Fear follow Muirhead and alpine skier Dave Ryding, who carried the flag at the opening ceremony of Beijing 2022, and both have asked Olympic medallist curler Muirhead for advice.

“I’m 5’2″ and not strong carrying things, I might have to visualise,” said Fear with a laugh. “I’m going to ask Eve functionally how to do it.”