Italy Chosen to Host 2026 Winter Olympics

After a long year of developing and promoting their bid, Milan and Cortina have been selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Of the 82 members of the International Olympic Committee, 47 voted in favor of hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, with the other 34 votes in favor of a dual bid between Stockholm and Are, Sweden. This is not the first time Italy has hosted an Olympic event; in 2006, the Winter Olympics were held in Turin, and Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956.

Ice hockey and skating will be held in Milan, and Alpine skiing and related events will be held in the resort town of Cortina.

According to polls taken by the IOC, Italians are very supportive of hosting the Olympic Games with over 80% of Italians in favor. This positive response is unsurprising because hosting the Winter Olympics will require Italy to refurbish and build new installations, which Matteo Salvini, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy, mentioned to i-Italy that the preparation for the Olympic Games will create “at least 20,000 new job positions, a lot of investments and 5 billion euros worth of value added to Italy.”

 

– Shauni Bernier