MILAN – The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics open on Friday as the Games return to their traditional heartland of the European Alps for the first time in 20 years, while organisers are praying skiing great Lindsey Vonn is fit to compete.
These Games will use a host of existing venues, meaning they will stretch for 350 kilometres (217 miles) across northern Italy from Cortina – one of the world’s iconic skiing locations – to Milan, with other “clusters” spread through the Alps
Organisers say that avoiding new construction meets the sustainable brief for an event often accused of creating white elephants, but they admit it has added complexity too
The first Olympics since the re-election of US President Donald Trump are set to be buffeted by global turbulence
Italy has maintained that it will retain control of all security operations after it emerged that a branch of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be sent to Italy in an “advisory” role, sparking anger in the host nation.
Olympic power Russia’s team of just 13 must compete as neutrals, a sanction imposed by the International Olympic Committee after Moscow invaded Ukraine weeks after the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022
The sports programme begins on Wednesday, but the Games officially start two days later with a spectacular opening ceremony at the San Siro stadium in Milan featuring performances from US singer Mariah Carey and Italian opera star Andrea Bocelli.
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