Winter Olympic Games 2026 Bid Process

[dcro 10,182]

Turin Olympics were good compared to what came afterwards.  People usually hype Vancouver 2010, but I don't agree at all. Disasterous weather conditions + fatal training accident. Hardly enjoyable in my book.

[phelps 6,893]

1 hour ago, ofan said:

Disappointing result. I was hoping for Stockholm, as 2 Olympic games in 20 years for a non-Winter Olympic powerhouse nation like Italy seems unfair. However, the logistics and wary public/government support for the Stockholm bid is what put them at a disadvantage at the end. I'm sure that Milan-Cortina will put on a great Olympic games, but it remains to be seen whether the legacy and sustainability of the Games will be any better than the disastrous legacy left behind by the Turin Games. 

 

that's ironic to hear from a Winter Sports powerhouse that's become that way only because in the last 20 years the Olympic schedule has been built only according the specific need and desire of the North American TV Networks with all those NON-SPORT activities like "artistic snowboard", freestyle, more and more absurd figure skating competitions and so on...

 

let's get back to basics...and you all would discover that Italy is way better than USA, Canada and all the other non-European Nations in almost all the real snow sports (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing -maybe not nowadays, but a few years ago it was a different story- biathlon, alpine disciplines snowboard, sliding sports -except for skeleton, which, guess what? it's not a "traditional" Olympic sliding sport like bobsleigh and luge)...

 

and even in the ice sports we're not a powerhouse, but for sure we always have some competitive athletes in all of those disciplines, despite not having venues, decent funding and people practicing them...

 

p.s. and the venues chosen for the 2026 Games in most cases are by far the most iconic used in all the most recent Olympic Games, included those hosted by the supposed powerhouses of the Winter Sports...

and being iconic venues already existing and dedicated to the sport, there's no way they're going to have any legacy and sustainability trouble like the "cathedrals in the desert" built for Torino 2006 (and then quickly dismissed and/or abandoned)...

 

so, yes! Milano-Cortina on paper is going to be the most "ideal" setup for the Winter Games since Lillehammer in 1994...

[phelps 6,893]

12 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Nagano is in my mind as more memorable than Torino by a wide margin  

 

yeah, only for the men's Hockey tournament (the first with the NHL players on board) and the speedskating races (Gianni Romme always the best!)...

but the snow sports were almost a farce, with 1 billion delays, rescheduling and tracks good for the junior races, to be generous...

not to mention the worst sliding track ever...mmmh, maybe the second worst (behind Sochi)...

[phelps 6,893]

39 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Not Baselga?  

 

yes, it's Baselga (still hoping that they will change it and build an indoor oval in Milan, but I think it won't happen)...

[Federer91 2,140]

1 hour ago, ofan said:

Disappointing result. I was hoping for Stockholm, as 2 Olympic games in 20 years for a non-Winter Olympic powerhouse nation like Italy seems unfair.

 

Umm, say what now?! 

[ofan 237]

3 minutes ago, phelps said:

 

that's ironic to hear from a Winter Sports powerhouse that's become that way only because in the last 20 years the Olympic schedule has been built only according the specific need and desire of the North American TV Networks with all those NON-SPORT activities like "artistic snowboard", freestyle, more and more absurd figure skating competitions and so on...

 

let's get back to basics...and you all would discover that Italy is way better than USA, Canada and all the other non-European Nations in almost all the real snow sports (alpine skiing, cross-country skiing -maybe not nowadays, but a few years ago it was a different story- biathlon, alpine disciplines snowboard, sliding sports -except for skeleton, which, guess what? it's not a "traditional" Olympic sliding sport like bobsleigh and luge)...

 

and even in the ice sports we're not a powerhouse, but for sure we always have some competitive athletes in all of those disciplines, despite not having venues, decent funding and people practicing them...

 

p.s. and the venues chosen for the 2026 Games in most cases are by far the most iconic used in all the most recent Olympic Games, included those hosted by the supposed powerhouses of the Winter Sports...

and being iconic venues already existing and dedicated to the sport, there's no way they're going to have any legacy and sustainability trouble like the "cathedrals in the desert" built for Torino 2006 (and then quickly dismissed and/or abandoned)...

 

so, yes! Milano-Cortina on paper is going to be the most "ideal" setup for the Winter Games since Lillehammer in 1994...

 

A few things:

 

First, additions to the Olympic schedule have not come from the desires of North American TV networks, but rather the IOCs desire to cater to a younger generation of both athletes and viewers. Furthermore, the IOC has made a handful of additions to the Winter Olympics programs in other sports like biathlon, alpine skiing and sliding sports (the supposed sports Italy dominates non-European nations in) over the last few years. If Canada and the United States have benefited from the sports that are growing in popularity in modern times, at the expense of traditional sports, hats off to them for evolving with the times. 

 

Second, Canada may have been aided by some new additions to the program, but much of its success has come from the millions in government funding as a part of the Own the Podium program designed to bring Canada success in its home Olympics in 2010 and beyond. I'm sure the Italian government will put in place a similar program for 2026 to try and prove me wrong about them not being a powerhouse (  )

 

Third, I'm not sure if I'm reading correctly, but to suggest that snowboarding and freestyle skiing are not sports is ridiculous. 

 

My point is this: Italy has a very strong winter sports tradition. But, it is unfair to me for them to host multiple games in a 20 year span, when nations like Norway, Sweden or Germany, with a much deeper winter sports tradition and a much stronger medal performance at the Olympics, have not hosted once. However, that is the way things go when other nations don't have the public support levels in place to sustain an Olympic bid. 

 

To conclude, Italy had a great, technically-sound bid, and congratulations to all Italians. I never said the venues will not be iconic - Milan-Cortina will be a beautiful setting for the Winter Olympics, and I agree it will be the first "traditional" Olympic set up since 1994, as well as a great opportunity to potentially "save" the Winter Olympic games from the downward trajectory that they are heading in. However, I still stand by my belief that I would have liked to have seen the Games spread around to other nations before Italy got another shot. 

[phelps 6,893]

those are the venues, according to the official bid (there's always the chance that something would be changed in 7 years, though)...

 

OPENING – San Siro Stadium, Milan (Lombardy)

CLOSING – Arena di Verona (Veneto)

ALPINE SKIING (MEN) – Bormio (Sondrio province, Lombardy)

ALPINE SKIING (WOMEN) – Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno province, Veneto)

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING/NORDIC COMBINED (CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING ONLY) – Val di Fiemme (Trento province, Trentino-South Tyrol)

BIATHLON – Antholz/Anterselva (Bozen province, Trentino-South Tyrol)

BOBLEIGH/LUGE/SKELETON – Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno province, Veneto)

ICE HOCKEY (MEN) – Milan (Lombardy)*

ICE HOCKEY (WOMEN) – Milan (Lombardy)

FIGURE SKATING – Milan (Lombardy)

SHORT TRACK SPEEDSKATING – Milan (Lombardy)

SNOWBOARD – Livigno (Sondrio province, Lombardy)

FREESTYLE SKIING – Livigno (Sondrio province, Lombardy)

SPEEDSKATING – Baselga di Pinè (Trento province, Trentino-South Tyrol)

SKI JUMPING/NORDIC COMBINED (JUMPING ONLY) – Val di Fiemme (Trento province, Trentino-South Tyrol)

CURLING – Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno province, Veneto)

 

*that's the only completely new venue, still to be built

 

women's ice hockey venue in Milan, the Speedskating Ice Rink in Baselga and the Sliding Sports Track in Cortina need major renovations and are the highest figures of spending in the provisional budget (apert from the new multi-purpose arena in Milan,of course)...

 

all the other venues are already existing and normally used for world cup/world championships events...

[ofan 237]

4 minutes ago, Federer91 said:

 

Umm, say what now?! 

 

Read my post below. Italy is a very strong winter sport nation, but I would define a powerhouse as a country that can win or at least finish in the top 5-6 of the medal table consistently.

 

However, my post has been taken out of context - I simply don't find Italy's winter Olympic performance strong enough to justify 2 Games in a 20 year span. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by ofan

[heywoodu 13,562]

19 minutes ago, phelps said:

 

yeah, only for the men's Hockey tournament (the first with the NHL players on board) and the speedskating races (Gianni Romme always the best!)...

but the snow sports were almost a farce, with 1 billion delays, rescheduling and tracks good for the junior races, to be generous...

not to mention the worst sliding track ever...mmmh, maybe the second worst (behind Sochi)...

I was 7 and only followed the speed skating  

[Federer91 2,140]

WOG back in a country with traditions - CHECK

 

Having iconic and regularly used venues - CHECK

 

Enthusiastic fans that know and love the sports - CHECK

 

Keeping the Games in one country and with a close proximity - CHECK

 

Potential good weather and real snow - CHECK

 

No bad time zones - CHECK

 

I love Italy as a whole - CHECK

 

Seems like a great decision by my account.