The 2026 Winter Games that begin in Milan-Cortina, Italy, in February will be a learning experience for the International Olympic Committee and its new president, Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe.
This year’s Olympics will be the first to be hosted by multiple cities. With more than 250 miles between Milan and Cortina and additional venues scattered throughout northern Italy, it will serve as a test of the IOC’s new, more flexible model for the Games.
Coventry, who took office last June as the Switzerland-based organization’s first woman and first African leader, told Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera that Milan-Cortina “will be an Olympic edition from which we can learn a lot,” according to a translation.
“We’re entering a different phase: the new normal is that of Games spread across the country,” she said. “The data we collect in Italy, by consulting with stakeholders, will guide us for the future. If adjustments need to be made, of course, we will.”
Utah’s next Olympics, the 2034 Winter Games, will be traditionally compact, as they were in 2002. Every venue is set to be within an hour’s drive of a single village for athletes at the University of Utah, also the sole site for Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
What sets the 2026 Winter Games apart
Olympic cauldrons are set to be lit in both Milan and Cortina to open the 2026 Winter Games. Milan, one of Italy’s largest cities, and Cortina, a mountain ski town, are the locations for the largest of what will be six athlete villages.
The decision to hold two Opening Ceremonies and name two pairs of Italian Olympic team flag bearers was up to Milan-Cortina organizers who “had complete freedom in this regard,” Coventry said.
“From my perspective, I’m grateful that there’s a ceremony for the athletes in Cortina, too: smaller, with lower costs, but able to allow everyone to participate in the great celebration, knowing that the heart of the inauguration will be Milan,” she said.
Citing her experience as an Olympic champion swimmer, Coventry said “it’s important that everyone experiences the Olympic spirit. Italy has the right to decide how to present its symbols and culture to the world.”
She also spoke of the pride she felt as an Olympian after telling her parents at 9 years old that her dream was to win a gold medal. Coventry went on to compete in five Olympic Games, winning seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals to date.
“At the time, I had no idea how much work it would require: the ups and downs, the sacrifices, the training,” she said. “In 2004, in Athens, when I found myself on the podium while the anthem was playing, it was a surreal and incredibly special moment.”
Italians expected to bring ‘unique passion’ to Olympics
Italy’s fourth Olympics — Cortina hosted the Winter Games in 1956; Rome, the Summer Games in 1960; and Torino, the Winter Games in 2006 — come after the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, widely hailed as a success despite some controversy over an Opening Ceremonies segment.
Coventry expressed high hopes for Milan-Cortina, which has had numerous issues involving venues. Most recently, concerns have been raised about whether a new ice hockey arena will be ready for the return of National Hockey League players.
“Remember the incredible atmosphere of Paris 2024? Well, in Italy, in a month’s time, I expect something similar,” she told the newspaper. “You Italians bring a unique passion to sport, and your mountains will be a beautiful backdrop. Winter sports were born on Europe’s peaks.”
During the interview, the IOC president was asked if she planned to use a helicopter to get around the Games, given that events are sprawled across nearly 8,500 square miles and can take hours to reach by road.
“No, no helicopter,” a laughing Coventry answered. “I’ll travel in an organization van, on the road, like everyone else.”