MILAN. Now let’s really go. The first inspection in the presence of the IOC Coordination Commission for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan marks a new start in the organization phase of the Milan-Cortina Games, scheduled in just over three years. The three days in Milan of the IOC representatives, led by the Finnish Sari Essayah, was also the first public outing of the new CEO of the Milan-Cortina Foundation, Andrea Varnier, an appointment that ended the stalemate represented by the previous management of Vincenzo Novari . The IOC heaves a sigh of relief: “Our judgment is positive now that the structure is in place,” explained Essayah in the press conference held at Palazzo Marino at the end of the visit that began on Monday, followed by a flash-mob in front of Palazzo Reale which involved over 100 actors to symbolize the disciplines of the Games and the meeting of the flags of Paris 2024 and Milano Cortina 2026.
Milano Cortina 2026 meets Paris 2024: flash mob at the foot of the Duomo
The presence of Varnier, strongly desired by the sports minister Andrea Abodi (Abodi would have been the managing director himself if it hadn’t been for the call from Giorgia Meloni), certifies a change of pace in the relations between the government and the organization of the Olympics: «Now the government is involved, it is strange that it wasn’t before – explains Varnier – there are many things to do. The first is the ability to involve the whole country and the business community. We need to strengthen efforts to find partners. It is a problem of overall involvement ». The reference is to the need to involve large national companies as sponsors of the Olympics. The search for partners is also one of the points indicated by the IOC Commission together with the optimization of the budget in this phase of galloping inflation and increase in the cost of raw materials, due to the war in Ukraine.
The Commission carried out inspections at all the structures that will host the Games in Milan: «The critical issues have been dissected and will be resolved in a short time. We will move forward quickly», says the president of Coni, Giovanni Malagò. The commissioners were also at San Siro which will host the inaugural ceremony: “Various things need to be sorted out,” explains Malagò. In particular, it is necessary to intervene on the areas that will welcome international guests (heads of state and government) and journalists arriving from all over the world. Stairs and lifts of San Siro that lead to these sectors (although they are the privileged areas of the facility) require interventions to be able to host an event of this magnitude. «The structures of the sporting events will be ready before the end of 2025 – assures Malagò – the test events of the various national teams are fundamental». The biggest problems are always linked to the Cortina bobsleigh and luge track and the Baselga di Pinè skating rink. The first has to be completely redone, but it is not possible to ignore Cortina, given the centrality of the pearl of Cadore for these Games. On the second, where the cover needs to be built, some discussions are underway: “We are making appropriate reflections on Baselga,” said Malagò. The main alternative would be Turin with the Oval Lingotto.
