With the end of the state of emergency linked to the pandemic, we return to talk about the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which are quite complicated from a logistical point of view, being divided between three Regions, Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige. The new business plan will be ready shortly, to review costs and receipts. The next board of directors of the Milano-Cortina Foundation will be held in November.
Meanwhile, about ten days ago the IOC commissioners were in Milan and in the venues of future races, giving a positive opinion on the progress of preparations. The “hunt” for sponsors will also restart, which should contribute to making the budget of the Games sustainable, and to maintain, as far as possible, the commitment to make the event cost-free for the public. This is obviously an effective but partial slogan, given that if the event will be realized with the resources of the IOC and covered with sponsors, tickets, merchindising and other services (including rental of places and IT tools for example), as far as concerns the infrastructures necessary for the conduct of the tenders, the Veneto and Lombardy regions will in any case have to guarantee half of the investments, which for now remain within a relatively low figure, 380 million, between public and private.
Let’s recap the figures of the event. In the application dossier a total investment of 1.340 billion was indicated. In the meantime, the figure has already risen to around 1.5 billion, due to a reassessment of costs, including those related to communication and promotion.
The IOC will invest 540 million (plus about another 400 million dollars in services); 550 million will come, according to current expectations, from sponsors; 200 million from ticket sales (a figure already downsized by 50 million after the pandemic); 50 million will come from merchandising; 200 million from collateral events. Obviously, according to the dossier, local and regional authorities guarantee in the event of budget gaps. It will be assessed whether the objectives set will be achievable with regard to tickets and sponsors, after the pandemic.
Then there are the sports infrastructure facilities. We are talking about a chapter of 380 million, which could increase if we consider that some plants will need more intervention than initially planned. For example, the bobsleigh run in Cortina, which could need 70 million for the renovation, to be paid by the Veneto Region.