A two-speed discourse. A verbal pirouette. Less than two years before the opening of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games (February 6 to 22), the IOC Coordination Commission completed a three-day inspection visit last weekend, attempting to, not without a certain success, of saying one thing and its opposite.
The exercise was not a foregone conclusion. But Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the Games at the IOC, and Kristin Kloster, the president of the commission, perfectly tuned their violins when facing the media for the press conference to review the visit. The Swiss and the Norwegian managed to explain that Italy was ahead, while warning that the slightest slowdown would send it into the background. All in less than an hour. Very strong.
In advance, therefore. You have to pinch yourself to believe it, as the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee has made so many pit stops in recent years. Giovanni Malago, its president, recognized this himself, without fear of using irony: “ We have deadlines and those deadlines are tight. But how is this new for Italy? »
And yet, Christophe Dubi pulled out examples from the past to ensure that, yes, Italy was far ahead of South Korea for PyeongChang 2018 and China for Beijing 2022. “ Deadlines are tight and we are very clear, he explained. Is it complicated? For a particular site, it's complicated. But for the rest, we are talking about building villages and a multipurpose room. It's not that complex. For this reason, Italy is one step ahead of previous organizing committees. " Cool.
No more worries, then? Not so fast. Christophe Dubi and Kristin Kloster both hammered it home, with different styles: Italy has no room for error. Every day lost could be fatal. The fault lies with the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track, strongly desired by the IOC abroad, but ultimately preserved by the Italians at home, on the remains of the historic ribbon of ice of Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The track of discord alone occupied most of the discussions at the press conference on Friday February 23 in Venice, pushing the press manager of Milan-Cortina 2026 to remind the media that the three-day visit of the commission coordination had swept away many other subjects.
Christophe Dubi insisted: on this issue, the IOC did not have the last word. The body recommended caution, suggesting going to Switzerland (Saint-Moritz) or Austria (Igls). But couldn't impose anything. On the other hand, the Italians listened, they gave the impression for a long time of leaning towards the IOC, before finally turning their backs on it and deciding to ignore its advice.
Andrea Varnier, the general director of Milan-Cortina 2026, made it clear to the media: keeping the sliding track in Italy will not only have the effect of “ make the event much more successful ». This option also turns out to be significantly more favorable for the Games budget, despite the 86 million euros in expenses announced to rebuild the track. “ Financially, organizing events abroad would be very expensive for the organizing committee”he insisted.
The IOC's message is clear: Italy has to be ahead ", at least compared to South Korea and China, it is no longer allowed to give itself a single respite. The body has set a deadline to restore the Eugenio-Monti track to working order: March 2025. “ On this point we cannot compromise, decided Christophe Dubi. This comes from the international federations. To ensure the safety of athletes, the track must be completed no later than March 2025"
Otherwise, Italy will have to give up organizing the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton Olympic events on its soil. He will have to turn to a plan B. Less than a year before the event. A puzzle in perspective.
