Home International Olympics Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo Awarded 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo Awarded 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

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Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo Awarded 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games
Members of Milan-Cortina delegation celebrate after winning the bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, during the first day of the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee, at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, June 24, 2019. Italy will host the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, taking the Winter Games to the Alpine country for the second time in 20 years. Photo: Philippe Lopez / AP

By Liam Morgan |

Milan Cortina d’Ampezzo has been awarded the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games after the Italian bid defeated Swedish rival Stockholm Åre by 13 votes at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session here today.

The Italian bid received 47 votes, five more than the majority, while 34 chose Stockholm Åre.

There was one abstention among the 82 voting members.

The Host City Contract was then signed by the IOC and Milan Cortina 2026.

The event in 2026 will be the second Winter Olympics and Paralympics to be held in Italy in the last 20 years after Turin 2006 and the third in total after Cortina played host in 1956.

The Winter Olympic Games in the two Italian cities will take place from February 6 to 22, with the Winter Paralympics following from March 6 to 15.

The announcement was met with euphoric and emotional scenes among the Italian delegation, who celebrated wildly as cries of “Italia” rang around the Session room.

Milan Cortina had emerged as the frontrunner in the build-up to the vote after the report from the IOC Evaluation Commission put its bid ahead of the Swedish candidacy. 

Its stronger Government guarantees also saw it move in front of the bid from Stockholm Åre, which becomes the seventh consecutive Winter Olympic and Paralympic candidature from the country to lose out on the hosting rights for the Games.

Bach admitted Stockholm’s reluctance to sign the Host City Contract may have counted against the joint bid with Åre with the electorate.

The IOC President said the higher levels of public support for the Milan Cortina bid compared with Stockholm Åre – 83 percent to 55 percent in the IOC Evaluation Commission report – were among the reasons the members chose the Italian candidacy.

He also highlighted how Milan Cortina had proposed the use of more existing venues than their Swedish rivals.

“The gap in public support, the 83 to 55 percent, this was for many members a clear signal,” Bach said.

“Public support often goes hand-in-hand with political support and this was maybe the reason why the city of Stockholm was not ready to sign the Host City Contract.

“We can speculate there a long time but it was a great race, a close race and we had two great candidates.”

IOC member Gunilla Lindberg, part of the Stockholm Åre team, had challenged the members by telling them the vote was the “chance to prove that the New Norm was not just talk” by voting for the Swedish bid.

In response, Bach claimed Milan Cortina’s victory was proof the IOC was “walking the walk”.

“Today’s election was a clear indication that this new approach to elect a host city, the more targeted and direct one, can address some of the issues,” Bach added.

“I would like to congratulate Milan Cortina for this victory, which for the IOC is a great day.

“The candidature of Milan and Cortina stood out with 93 per cent existing venues.

“The IOC will contribute $925 million to help facilitate preparations and will be an important part of a great partnership.

“With this enthusiasm and support of the Italians, the foundations are laid for fantastic preparations.

“This is not only a victory for Milan Cortina, but a victory for Italian sports fans.”

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who was at the Session to promote the Milan Cortina bid but left before the result, said he was “proud of this great achievement”.

“Italy has won: an entire country that has worked together and compact with the ambition to realise and offer the world a memorable sporting event,” he said.

The vote ended a tepid campaign bereft of the usual hype and interest as the IOC attempts to reform its troubled bidding process.

Milan Cortina and Stockholm Åre were the only survivors from a race littered with withdrawals.

Bids from Calgary, Sion in Switzerland and Innsbruck in Austria were all scuppered by referendum defeats, while Erzurum in Turkey was culled by the IOC Executive Board in October.

Milan Cortina 2026 will still have questions to answer despite their victory as the Evaluation Commission raised several issues with their plans, including a proposal to revamp the Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre, closed since 2008, instead of using an existing venue elsewhere in Europe.

Having separate men’s and women’s Alpine skiing venues, in Bormio and Cortina, was among the other issues raised by the commission, while fresh concerns over the fragility of the Italian economy were raised this week.

Bid officials have promised to address the concerns and insisted Italy’s delicate financial situation would not hamper their preparations.

Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.

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