The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics are shaping up to be a subdued affair, with venues spread across northern Italy and slow ticket sales among locals. Chris Jones reports from Italy, highlighting the challenges of determining the center of the Games. The singing at San Siro on Sunday night was a stark contrast to the muted atmosphere expected for the Opening Ceremony. Olympic organizers face the challenge of engaging a soccer-crazed city in hockey and figure skating.
The venues in Milan are currently close to invisible, with the Milano Santagiulia hockey arena under construction and a temporary store in Piazza del Duomo being overshadowed by a towering Christmas tree. The other venues are makeshift and far-flung, with figure skating and long track speed skating in Assago and a second hockey rink in Rho. The athletes' village, the only purpose-built site, is surrounded by construction barriers, but it promises white curtains in each apartment window.
In smaller co-host cities like Cortina and Livigno, the Olympics will feel more festive, but in Milan, the focus is on the Serie A title fight between Inter and AC Milan. The city's housing, though modest, is divisive, with some seeing elegance in its sharp-cornered apartment blocks and others finding them cold and Soviet. The Milano Cortina Olympics are a cautious and restrained event, relying on existing facilities and planning for their post-event use, such as converting the Olympic village into student housing.
The event may represent the future of modern, lower-impact mega-events, learning from past failures like the 2010 men's World Cup in South Africa and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. The optimism at San Siro on Sunday night was embodied by the tens of thousands of passionate fans, reminding us that it's the crowds and their passion that make sporting events unforgettable, despite the architecture.
