The opening ceremony of the Games at San Siro on 6 February with Mariah Carey and Laura Pausini. Then the races with three thousand athletes involved. Italy aims to obtain 19 medals
The stated objective is 19 medals. Because for the third Winter Olympics at home, Italy certainly doesn’t want to disfigure itself: and so 20 years after the Turin Games, when there is only a month left until those of Milan Cortina (the double ceremony on 6 February), the race towards the d-day with the lighting of the two official braziers is becoming tight. Not without some stumbles, however. In the snow and ice Olympics n.25, the first with two cities (400 km apart) to give the event its name and also the first decidedly widespread (in addition to Milan and the Ampezzo area, the Olympic venues are Rho, Assago, Bormio, Livigno, Predazzo, Rasun-Anterselva, Tesero and Verona protagonist even if only for the closing ceremony), 30 days before the start the anticipation grows with the usual fears, those relating to logistics and delays in the works.
The standard bearers
In Piazza Duomo in Milan and in Piazza Angelo Dibona in Cortina, among the lights of the parties now at the end credits, the two large Countdown Clocks continue to mark the inexorable approach to the great event. And if the standard-bearers are in double figures, even the calculations are no joke: they will parade at San Siro Arianna Fontana, the queen of short track was also there in 2006, then little more than a child, and Federico Pellegrino, #1 cross-country in his last ski event; while in Cortina it’s up to Federica Brignoneprotagonist of a monstrous recovery after the injury that kept her sidelined since last April, and Amos Mosanera curling Olympian who will have his competition venue in the pearl of the Dolomites. The Games plan includes 98 works for a total investment of 3.54 billion euros, of which only 13% is dedicated to the Olympics and 87% to legacy, especially for road or railway interventions (for every euro allocated to works essential to the Games, 6.6 are spent on those that remain as a legacy to the territories involved).
The expenses
Spending is mainly concentrated in Veneto and Lombardy which each approach 1.5 billion eurosor. But despite progressing relentlessly in this announced race against time, the construction climate characterizes the areas affected by the Games: the report provided by Libera together with the 20 associations promoting the Open Olympics 2026 civic network (the last one before the start) highlights that only 42 works have an expected completion date before the event: “57% of the interventions will be completed after the Games, with the last construction site closing in 2033. Sixteen interventions, including eight essential ones (including the controversial bobsleigh track “Cortina Sliding Centre”, artificial snow and the Olympic Village of Cortina) present only partial delivery. Postponements of completion represent 73% of the works in the Plan (even up to three years).
Three thousand athletes
And the costs also rise with a 157 million euros more, with increases affecting 34 works already present, one duplication and three new interventions. The most significant changes affect Longarone (+43 million), Perca (+31 million) and Sondrio (+13.3 million). What is certain is that 57% of the works will be completed after the Games: Veneto has the largest number (25), for a total economic value of around 1.42 billion euros, equal to around 40.2% of the total expenditure (9 are essential for the Olympics, 16 are part of the legacy). Here too, spending increased by over 75 million euros. As for the unknown snow, Simico has guaranteed the full functionality of the facilities, in particular in Bormio, where the alpine skiing champions will be competing. And while valleys and cities await the beyond 3000 athletes from 96 countries chasing 672 medals up for grabs, with Italy working day and night to get to the top, the champions look to the dream they have pursued for an entire four-year period. In Cortina the spotlight is on Lindsey Vonn: the over forty-year-old American aims to leave her mark on her favorite track again. The Azzurri, in a mix of young talents and old certainties (in skiing Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone above all), are looking for glory: in Beijing in 2022 there were 17 medals, with two golds, twenty years ago in Turin 11, but with five very heavy titles. A month to present yourself to the world at your best and then leave the catwalk to the athletes.
Mariah Carey and Pausini at San Siro
The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium in Milan (San Siro Olympic Stadium) will be the fulcrum of an opening ceremony which includes celebrations and symbolic moments also in the other Olympic territories, with widespread celebrations and the traditional parades of the delegations which will also take place in Predazzo, Livigno and Cortina d’Ampezzo, thus involving the male and female athletes in their places of competition. There will be Mariah Careyfive-time Grammy Award-winning world-renowned artist, will also perform Laura Pausinithe only Italian artist recognized and awarded worldwide with a Grammy Award, five Latin Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and an Oscar® nomination during a successful career spanning over thirty years. The participation of three internationally renowned Italian actors is also expected: Matilda De Angeliswho will be one of the narrators, Pierfrancesco Favinowho will perform together with the violinist Giovanni Zanon, and Sabrina Impacciatorerecently nominated for a Primetime Emmy Awards for her role in the series The White Lotus.
