While not exactly as popular as
the original summer version, especially because it tends to feature less
competing countries because of the uncommon nature of its playing medium, the
Winter Olympics are still an Olympic Games. That means the right to host it can
be a fierce competition for nations with an appropriate snowy locale on the
right time of year. While the host of the next Winter Olympics is already confirmed
– Beijing, China – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) always makes
arrangements well in advance. That being said, the host city for the 2026
Winter Games was recently announced: Italy.
CNN reports that, with the final applicants for the 2026 Winter
Olympics brought down to just two, the IOC has selected the dual-location bid
of Milan and Cortina in Italy to be the host. The decision was announced by the
Committee president Thomas Bach on Monday, June 24. With this, the Winter Games
will be held again in Europe in the coming years, following Five Olympics
(three Summer, two Winter which were both in Asian cities) and 12 years of
waiting after the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. It is also a repeat performance
for the town of Cortina d’Ampezzo, which was the solo host for the 1956 Winter
Games.
The bidding for the 2026 Winter
Olympics began in 2017 with about seven bids. But over the course of 2018 five
of the bids withdrew from the running: Calgary in Canada, Sapporo of Japan,
Austria’s own Graz, the Swiss town of Sion, and a first-time Winter bid by
Turkey for Erzurum. Only Milan-Cortina and the Swedish double-bid of Stockholm-Åre
remained for the Committee to vote on. This is symptomatic of the current trend
in Olympic host selection wherein the final candidates rarely exceed two,
followed by quick withdrawals by other candidate bids for the contention.
On his announcement of the
International Olympic Committee’s decision, Thomas Bach remarked that the IOC was
looking forward to returning to the traditional winter-sports country of Italy
ahead of a sustainable Winter Games, thanks to passionate local fans and
professional venue operators in the area. "The Olympic Winter Games
Milan-Cortina 2026 will feature iconic venues and beautiful settings, combining
the attractions of a modern European metropolis with a classic Alpine
environment," he said. Thus far the reactions of winter sports athletes at
the news have been positive, with many of them having competed in venues at
Cortina in the past.
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games
will run from February 6 to 22 of that year, with events held at both Milan and
Cortina. As is now traditional, there will be a follow-up Winter Paralympics
running the following month, March 6-15.
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