With 100 days remaining until the start of the Milan-Cortina Olympics, preparations are in full swing in northern Italy to host what will be the most widely dispersed Winter Games to date. The event will take place across various locations, with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo serving as the primary clusters. These two cities are over 400 kilometers apart, requiring visitors to plan for a full day of travel between them.
The Games will also feature competitions in three other mountain clusters, with the closing ceremony scheduled to be held in Verona, the largest city in the northeastern Veneto region. While the majority of the venues will utilize existing infrastructure, some facilities are undergoing renovations or being constructed from scratch to meet the event’s requirements.
In Milan, the iconic San Siro Stadium, home to AC Milan and Inter Milan soccer teams, will host the opening ceremony before being replaced by a new stadium post-Olympics. The Santagiulia arena, the main hockey venue, is nearing completion despite a tight timeline, with test events scheduled for January. Additionally, the Ice Park, located at the Fiera Milano exhibition venue, will host ice hockey and speed skating competitions.
In Cortina, the Tofane alpine skiing center will welcome athletes for the women’s alpine skiing events. Curling will take place in the Olympic Ice Stadium, while the Cortina Sliding Centre has been rebuilt at a cost of 118 million euros to accommodate bobsled, luge, and skeleton events. The venue has received praise from the International Olympic Committee for surpassing expectations.
Other locations hosting Olympic events include Bormio, where men’s alpine skiing and ski mountaineering will take place; Livigno, hosting snowboarding and freestyle skiing competitions; Predazzo, the setting for ski jumping events; Tesero, the venue for cross-country skiing competitions; Anterselva, hosting the biathlon competitions; and Verona, where the closing ceremony will be held at the historic Verona Arena.
These diverse locations spread across northern Italy will provide a picturesque backdrop for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, showcasing the beauty and diversity of the region while welcoming athletes and spectators from around the world.