Rome
The location of the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina has been cast into uncertainty due to the prohibitive cost of upgrading a historic track. The original plan was to reutilize the Eugenio Monti facility for the downhill track events. This track, constructed in 1923, was previously used in the 1956 Winter Olympics held in Cortina d’Ampezzo and hosted nine world championships, with the most recent one dating back to 1999. However, due to escalating maintenance expenses, the track was closed in 2008. The bid by Italy to host the 2026 Winter Games included an estimated 50 million euros for the track’s modernization. Unfortunately, the July 31 deadline for submitting qualifying bids passed, with cost estimates ranging from 93 million to 120 million euros. The comprehensive budget for the Games has doubled to 4 billion euros since initial plans were made. During the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Mumbai, India, it was revealed on Monday that officials were considering relocating the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions to Innsbruck, Austria, or St. Moritz, Switzerland. Both options are at a considerable distance from Cortina d’Ampezzo, sparking debate in Italy. On Wednesday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani advocated for hosting the events in Cesana Pariol, approximately 240 kilometers west of Milan, near the industrial hub of Turin. Tajani emphasized that Italy should not give up on hosting all the Olympic races as per its candidacy dossier and expressed a preference for Cesana over Innsbruck and St. Moritz.
