A few days after the announcement that Milano – Cortina will host the 2026 Winter Olympics, the institutions and regions involved are working to define the governance of the event.
It is also time to analyse the reasons that led to the choice of the Italian bid over Sweden’s. The proved ability to host major international events is believed to be one of those.
Cortina d’Ampezzo has indeed been hosting the FIS Ladies World Cup since 1974, with a few interruptions, making it one of the best known stages of the circuit. Moreover, the town is going to host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2021.
Ms Paola Coletti, member of the City Council of Cortina d’Ampezzo, stated: “Cortina has had an important role in the bid. It is a place that has a long tradition in hosting major sporting events in both summer and winter sports, from ski to bobsleigh and from trail running to curling competitions. We are not new to this, we have been managing major events since before the 1956 Olympics. In addition, Cortina and the Dolomites are widely recognised to be among the most mesmerising landscapes in the World, and this will undoubtedly be an added value for the public and, of course, for the athletes.”
The Milano Cortina bid is also in line with the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020, aimed at making the Games a more sustainable event in both environmental and economic terms. In Cortina, no venue needs to be built from scratch: the Olympic stadium originally built in view of the 1956 Olympics will be reused for curling; the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge competitions are to be held on the Eugenio Monti track, which will be renovated for the occasion; the ladies’ Alpine skiing competitions will take place on the slopes renovated and adapted for the 2021 World Ski Championships.
Finally, the strong support for the event among the local population, polled at over 80%, is deemed to have played an important role in the IOC’s decision.
Click here for the dossier of Milano Cortina 2026; here for the pocket version.
Click here for the press release by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI)
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Foreign Markets Office – Cortina Marketing Se.Am.
Eleonora Colli – [email protected]
Francesco Corte Colò – [email protected]
t. +39 0436 866252
Photo credits: Paola Dandrea_Cortina Marketing