The Livigno Snow Park will be one of the first venues for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games to come into action, starting Thursday, February 5, with the men's snowboard big air qualifications. The countdown has begun, and the organizing committee is under intense scrutiny. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has been applying pressure in recent weeks, expressing its concerns about the competition conditions.
"A situation we should never have found ourselves in."
Livigno will host all the snowboard and freestyle skiing events. A total of 26 Olympic champions will be crowned there. A strategic site, therefore, for the FIS. A month ago, its Secretary General, Michel Vion, expressed concern about the delays experienced by the organizers regarding the artificial snow system. Apparently, the reservoir is finished, but they haven't received permission to fill the lake yet. A reservoir without water is complicated. We're still a bit worried because the need for snow is significant for these sports.he explained to AFP. If we want to guarantee proper Games, we need not only natural snow, we also need artificial snow, to consolidate the more compact, wetter snow. »
President Johan Eliasch further increased the pressure in the days that followed. The Italian government and the regions organizing the Games still have a lot of work to do and they need to speed things up. They are called three times a day: morning, noon, and night., the former IOC presidential candidate remarked. I hope it will be okay. We have a plan B, a plan C, a plan D… But it's unfortunate to find ourselves in a situation we should never have been in. "The barb reached the ears of the organizing committee, which seems to have returned to the fold.
On time and as scheduled
Just before Christmas, the company in charge of the Games' infrastructure (Simico) sought to reassure everyone. A pipe burst on December 12th, causing a delay. After five days, the problem was solved.Fabio Saldini, commissioner of Simico, explained to the press. We brought forward our snowmaking schedule and, to date, we are on track to meet the planned start date. We are filling the reservoir with approximately 14.000 m³ of water per day, which allows us to guarantee 28.000 m³ of snow per day. All 53 snow cannons are functioning perfectly, enabling us to produce 3.500 m³ of snow per hour. »
The organizers have no cause for concern, as they will deliver the Livigno Snow Park " by January 20th, so that the test event can take place between January 20th and 25th Saldini insists: All the problems that arose, inherent in the normal management of the work, were brilliantly resolved without leaving a trace. "He also highlighted the progress made in the aerial and mogul events." We are producing 210.000 cubic meters of snow – as requested by the FIS and the IOC – and the total production will be 910.000 cubic meters of snow guaranteed for January 18 and 19. »
