Olympic Games
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Waiting for the formal CIO invitations that are expected tomorrow evening, we analyze the pros and cons of the three candidates to host the Winter Games of 2026. After presenting Stockholm and Calgary, Milan and Cortina are the protagonists.
Sunday 7 October 2018 10 minutes reading time
THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIO
"Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo combine the advantages of a large European city and a popular mountain region of the Italian Alps, with the application benefiting from the strong history, tradition and experience of winter sports in the region, as well as love and passion of Italians for sport The project can also exploit the economic strength and prosperity of the northern Italian region Even if the planning is still at an early stage, the project has the potential to achieve the long-term goals of cities and regions in line with the 2020 Olympic Agenda
THE HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
More than a story, it is an instant book. In the summer of 2017, the president of CONI Giovanni Malagò launches a possible Italian candidature to host the 2026 Games, indicating Milan and Lombardy as the most suitable venue. Work began in this direction but nine months later, in the last month of March, plans were also announced for the Municipality of Turin and the Veneto region with the leader Cortina d'Ampezzo, to the point that while the CONI informs the CIO of the intending to propose an Italian candidature without indicating the city, at the beginning of July in Viale Tiziano there are three ready feasibility studies. An evaluation committee is set up proposing a tripartite application based on a master plan to minimize costs and to satisfy all the parties involved. The local authorities show their opposition to the project to the point that on September 18 the undersecretary with delegation on sport Giorgetti declares the candidacy dead. In the following days a proposal emerged which, excluding Turin, unites Milan and Cortina and is brought to the IOC at the end of September.
THE RACE OFFICES
The Milan-Cortina project is so fresh that there are no official versions of the details unless the rather vague and generic statements at the exit, last Friday, of the first meeting between CONI and representatives of Lombardy, Veneto, and the mayors of Milan and Cortina . You can not do anything else but to make some hypotheses running the risk of being denied in 24 hours.
The biggest doubts are in the snow sports; Alpine Skiing should be hosted in total by Cortina, where the World Championships of 2021 will take place, even if in the last days there is talk of a possible collaboration with Bormio. The choice for Ski Jumping and Combinata Nordica is obligatory: you will use the Predazzo Trampoline and the Tesero stadium which could also represent the natural base of the Fund competitions even if already from the evaluation commission Santa Caterina Valfurva seems destined to to host them in the name of a substantial balance in the weight of the medals awarded in the two regions. In the work for the Milan-Cortina application, Anterselva, the venue of the World Championships in 2020, could be recovered as a venue for the Biathlon that was not considered in favor of the Lombard Valdidentro. The temporary facilities of Livigno and Bormio for Freestyle and Snowboard are still safe.
The restoration of the Eugenio Monti di Cortina track will host the rehearsals of Bob, Skeleton and Slittino and restore a venue to the Italian gut movement while the Ampezzo package is completed with the Curling.
And '' sure that the other ice disciplines will have the Milan headquarters but the destination of the plants is still to be defined mainly by virtue of the fact that the 'exclusion of Turin requires a mega facility (by size) to accommodate the Skating of Speed ​​on a long track that was destined for the Oval Savoy. At this point the new Palasport to be built in the Rogoredo area in Santa Giulia, Palaitalia, could host these competitions while the mayor of Milan, Sala, spoke yesterday of three plants to work on. The second should be the Palalido, under renovation, for the Hockey tournaments while the needs in terms of demand from the public would lead to the restructuring of the Assago Forum to host Figure Skating and Short Track.
In Milan, the Olympic Village, most likely in the area of ​​the ex-port of Porta Romana, would be able after the Games to be used either for housing needs or as a university campus. It seems obvious the San Siro Stadium as a stage for the Opening Ceremony while the Closing should take place in Veneto and a very suggestive hypothesis would see it at the Verona Arena.
We are in the field of hypotheses but surely in the next three months everything will be clarified play force.
PRO AND AGAINST SECOND GAMESBIDS
Robert Livingstone, the founder of Gamesbids.com (reference website for the analysis of Olympic candidacies) considers the candidacy of Milan-Cortina favored in the fight for three. "Italy has an Olympic tradition and has infrastructures: Cortina hosted the Games in 1956 and even though the plants must be renovated they represent a good starting point while Milan has everything to host the events on the ice and in the region there are localities. you will not have to invest a lot and you will find that traditional winter atmosphere that the CIO is looking for, we are in Europe and it is another big factor in favor ".
But it will not all be so obvious; "Politics and disorganization are widespread and make things difficult: Rome's candidacies for 2020 and 2024 have been wrecked because of the lack of political support, and we still do not know if the IOC will accept an application that does not have the support of the central government There are many, too many question marks and there is the possibility that the candidacy will not survive ".
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