The IOC voted 47 to 34 in favour of Italy as host country of the 2026 Winter Olympics this week. The games will take place in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, which are about a 5-hour drive from each other. Located in the beautiful Dolomites, Cortina d'Ampezzo last hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956. There was only one other contender, a joint bid from Stockholm, the Swedish ski resort of Are and the Latvian city of Sigulda. Both contenders have an established infrastructure and a history of hosting major international sporting events. Beijing will host the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics.
Stockholm had withdrawn its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games due to financial reasons. Despite the fact that officials promised public funds would only be used for security and maintenance of existing infrastructure, only a little over half of Sweden's population was in favour of the bid. Italy struggled to put a bid together, although more than 80% of the population was in favour. After a joint Milan-Cortina-Turin bid fell apart last year, the country finally managed to organise a bid shared by Milan and Cortina.
Some officials fear that interest for the Winter Olympics is waning. This marks the second time that there were only two finalists left in the bidding process, the other five having dropped out or not been able to guarantee the Games would go smoothly. It's expensive to host the Winter Olympics, which is why the International Olympic Committee decided to allow regions to share the Games. Italy's tentative budget is over a billion euros and expected to increase as time goes on. Although the country will make some of the money back from TV rights, merchandising, ticket sales and the like, it's not usually enough to cover the full cost of the event.
Added to this is the problem of what happens when the climate doesn't cooperate - both Vancouver and Sochi had to make emergency provisions for the too-warm temperatures experienced during their recent Winter Olympics Games, with Vancouver constructing moguls out of bales of hay topped with a layer of snow and dry ice. It's hoped that Northern Italy's history of successful winter sports events will help attract public interest back to the Winter Olympics. 90% of the slopes at Cortina d'Ampezzo are equipped with snow cannons, which is a promising start!
A popular host resort for the Women's Skiing World Cup, Cortina d'Ampezzo has been considered one of Italy's premier ski resorts ever since it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956. With its swanky town centre and impressive backdrop set against the gorgeous Dolomites, it's easy to see why. The Italian ski area has just over 100km of slopes, which are mostly suited to beginner and intermediate skiers. The Skitour Olympia ski route offers the chance to ski in the tracks of the pros on the pistes from the 1956 Winter Olympics. In addition, Cortina d'Ampezzo is part of the massive Dolomiti Superski area, so no matter what your level, you're sure to find terrain that's challenging and interesting on your ski holidays in Italy.
Born and raised in the ski paradise of Vancouver, Canada, I learned to ski before I can remember, balancing precariously on my parents’ skis as they sailed down the hill. I started snowboarding in my teens and am now delighted to be exploring everything Europe’s ski scene has to offer!
