The day of truth is Monday 24 June: to convince the Olympic Committee in Lausanne ad award the 2026 Winter Olympics to Milan and Cortina not only the mayor Beppe Sala and the (outgoing) president of CONI will mobilize, but also the Government in the person of the undersecretary for Sport Giancarlo Giorgetti, and exceptional testimonials such as the national coach Marcello Lippi, the heads of Inter and Milan and 16 former Azzurri athletes with medals. The challenge with Stockholm is still to be played out, but in the meantime one thing is certain: for Milan, the 5-circle event would be a new Expo. In terms of image but above all of economic repercussions on the territory, which Bocconi has estimated at almost 3 billion only for Milan and Lombardy, with an added value of 1,2 billion and significant growth also on the labor front, with 22 more employed between now and 2026.
The study by the Lombard university follows that of La Sapienza in Rome, which had already calculated the tax benefit of the event for the central state: against the 415 million that will be spent to support security costs, there will be 601,9 million revenues for the exchequer. The Games are therefore confirmed as a great opportunity, despite their duration being much shorter than the Expo (17 days against 6 months), as well as the influx of public will be much lower: between Lombardy and Veneto there are 2,5 tickets to be sold .21 million, against the 2015 million people who visited the pavilions of the event that changed the face of Milan in XNUMX. “A virtuous circle in the local productive and social system, the overall effects of which will far exceed the cost of faced for the construction of the infrastructure also generating tax repercussions”, said Marco Percoco, the director of Green, the Bocconi study center that carried out the analysis.
OLYMPIC GAMES IN MILAN AND CORTINA, THE ACCOUNTS COME BACK
Everything has been considered in the bill: the direct effects that will come from the construction and management of the Olympics in Lombardy, the indirect effects, the related industries. That's how it came to quantify that for every euro invested (Lombardy allocates 321 million) 2,7 will come, with a total benefit of 868 million. A multiplier effect that will also affect operating expenses, which will amount to 473 million, bringing a total of 951 million, with an added value of 460. Finally, visitors - including the so-called Olympic family or insiders - who they will have to sleep, eat, move, go shopping, visit museums and have fun. In this case, the experts start from an estimate of 357 million which, however, will put into circulation a billion and an added value of 445 million. According to Bocconi, an international spectator who will stay an average of 2 days will have a budget of 220 euros per day (net of the ticket for the races), similar to that of a tourist.
The daily bill for an athlete is lower: 50 euros. The expense report of a journalist will be 250 euros, but the trip will be 12 days. Gold mine for restaurants and hotels, but also for the coffers of the Municipality which, for the tourist tax, he will collect 2,3 million (800 the figure for Valtellina). And the tourist tax is only one of the items that make up the tax impact: in general, we are talking about 304 million due largely to income tax and VAT. The real goal, however, is to give a further impetus to Milan, as happened with Expo, beyond the numbers: "In order for those sparks to transform into lasting development - says Percoco of Bocconi again - it is necessary to make the territory more attractive only for the tourists of those 15 days, but for the talents and businesses that will be able to come and live and work in Lombardy from 2026".
MILAN AND CORTINA OLYMPIC GAMES, CONSENT TO THE STARS
Will Milan and Cortina be able to convince the IOC? According to Giorgetti, the match is wide open and indeed it will be decided in the very last hours, "between Sunday and Monday". Mayor Sala speaks of a "battle to the last vote", but does not deny that what is circulating in the rooms of Palazzo Marino is a "moderate optimism". In addition to the solidity of the candidacy, another point on which Italy will insist in the final rush is the popular consensus: here we are now approaching the plebiscite, while the Swedes are increasingly indifferent or even against it. At least according to a survey carried out by Ipsos for the Dagens Nyheter newspaper: only 34% of those interviewed in Stockholm and the surrounding area are in favor (less than the 55% photographed by the Cio last March), with 37% against.
