Will the race for the 2026 Winter Games soon have a new starter? Maybe. Not sure. In Italy, two files have suddenly come to light, when no one seemed to be expecting them. But gray areas persist. Above all, politics gets involved.

First project, still very conditional: Turin. The host city of the Winter Games in 2006 had never expressed any intention of doing it again, twenty years later. But its mayor, Chiara Appendino, says she is ready to try the adventure. She announced that she supported the idea of ​​Beppe Grillo, the founder of the 5 Star Movement (M5S), to which she belongs, according to which organizing the Winter Games could represent “a great opportunity for Turin”.

The only problem, but a major one: several municipal elected officials from his own party do not see things with the same perspective. They boycotted a city council meeting earlier this week, where a motion in favor of the candidacy was to be discussed and possibly put to a vote. For the first time since the victory of the 5 Star Movement in Turin in 2016, a quorum was not reached in a municipal council.

There is no question, however, of giving up. Chiara Appendino explained: “We will not be able to announce that Turin wants to be a candidate, but we will send this Wednesday, March 14, a letter to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) expressing our interest in the Games in 2026.”

At the same time, another project is mentioned by the Italian press. It comes from the governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia, a political leader from the League, the far-right party. According to him, his region could present a common file with the Dolomites. He explains that discussions have already started between the two regions. The project could be organized around the resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in Veneto, host of the Alpine Ski Worlds in 2021, and more broadly the vast Dolomiti Superski area.

Reaction from Giovanni Malago, CONI president: “All of a sudden it seems like a lot of people seem to be interested in the Games again. This may be due to the success of the PyeongChang 2018 Games beyond sport. But three elements are necessary for an application: the will of the local authorities, CONI and the government. We will see what the new government, when there is one, will want to say about all this.”