The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, marking a century since the first Winter Games in Chamonix, are facing escalating financial and environmental costs. The Games, spread across northern Italy, involve 3,500 athletes from 93 countries competing in 16 events over 19 days. However, the event has been criticised for its environmental impact, including the construction of a €270m ice hockey arena on 110 acres of brownfield land south of Milan, which will only be used for the duration of the Games.
Organisers have built a reservoir to supply approximately 100 million litres of water to produce 50,000 tonnes of artificial snow for Cortina, where natural snowfall is unreliable. Additionally, a new ice track has been cut through a forest of ancient larch trees, despite an existing track from the 1956 Games that has been derelict since 2008. According to the World Wildlife Foundation of Italy, 60% of construction works have been conducted without environmental impact assessments.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has struggled to attract host cities, with Calgary, Innsbruck, Krakow, Oslo, Sapporo, Sion, and Stockholm all withdrawing bids in the past 12 years due to lack of public support. The 2026 Games are an attempt at retrenchment after the excessive costs of Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022, but concerns remain over sustainability. Saudi Arabia, which sent two skiers to these Games, is building a $500bn winter sports resort in the desert, potentially eyeing a future Winter Olympics.
