"We won". It is a shared cry of joy that crosses the Alps from Lausanne, continues through Lombardy, but spreads throughout Italy. The Milan-Cortina axis will host the 2026 Winter Olympics. A project strongly desired by everyone, starting from CONI and the Mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, and fully supported by the Government, represented at the SwissTech Convention Center, by the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, and by the Northern League undersecretary, Giancarlo Giorgetti.
The joint Milan-Cortina bid beat that of Stockholm-Aare. As per tradition, the Italian and Swedish members did not vote, just as President Bach abstained. For Italy, the 2026 Olympics are the third winter ones organized after Cortina 1956 and Turin 2006, and the fourth quarters also counting the summer ones in Rome 1960.
Victory had already been in the air since last May 24, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC), through a report signed by the evaluation commission, had promoted the Italian proposal, instead raising many doubts about the competitor.
According to initial calculations, the organization of the 2026 Games will bring Italy around 5 billion euros. A specific Bocconi study for the city of Milan alone which, in addition to benefits for the image of the city and the entire region, will economic effects equal to around 3 billion euros, to which are added 1,2 billion of added value and important consequences on the labor market, with 22 thousand more employed between now and 2026.
Furthermore, based on an analysis carried out by La Sapienza of Rome, the tax benefit for the State will be 601,9 million euros, against security costs of around 415 million.
A victory that also makes us think bitterly of the missed opportunity by Rome two years ago with the 2022 Olympics which could have represented a driving force for a capital increasingly in difficulty. But our thoughts also turn to the other pentastellata-guided city, Turin, which should have run in tandem with Milan and Cortina, only to then decide to take a step back.
The announcement was greeted with a long applause, which was joined by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the Piccolo Teatro Paolo Grassi. Shortly before the official announcement, the Head of State had stated in a video message: "The passion and interest in the Olympic movement and its values will grow and spread further in Italy and around the globe, with the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina 2026”: this is a passage from the video message from the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the IOC voters who today will choose the venue for the 2026 Winter Games
Festive bells in Cortina for the announcement of the Italian victory. A 30-metre-long Italian flag was unfurled from the city's bell tower, while people in the square started singing the Italian anthem.
