On the eve of the third meeting of the Control Authority for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, and while the question of the site of the speed skating events must be decided, Turin and Piedmont received today the support of the Vice-President of the Italian Council, who is also Minister in charge of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini.
” data-medium-file=” data-large-file=” decoding=”async” class=”size-full wp-image-51555″ alt=”” width=”750″ height=”563″ srcset=” 960w, 300w, 768w, 800w, 400w, 200w” sizes=”(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px” data-recalc-dims=”1″/>
Lhe Host City of the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games benefit from the return of the global event to Northern Italy in 2026?
Nothing is less sure.
While the former Mayor of Turin had rejected the idea of taking part in the candidacy – and therefore in the development of the project ultimately based on Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo – the municipal and regional authorities in place today are not in the same state of mind and therefore hope to be able to take part in the festivities again in less than three years.
For several months, the latter have multiplied their expressions of interest, without this arousing the enthusiasm of Lombardy and Veneto, quite the contrary.
As proof, when Baselga di Pinè (Trentino-Alto Adige) was rejected from the Games system due to the cost of modernizing the existing Speed Ring, earlier this year, Turin tried to step into the breach before Milan and the Lombard region make known their frank opposition to a return of the city of Piedmont to the court of the Games.
Since then, Milan has put forward the idea of mobilizing pavilions from the Parc des Expositions in Milan fair to both bypass the Turin option and at the same time sanctify the outfit on site a large majority of the ice events at the next Winter Games.
This proposal also seems to be in pole position. It will in any case be debated this Tuesday, March 21, 2023 in the afternoon, on the occasion of the third meeting of the Gaming Control Authority expected in Rome. and should, firstbe approveddoing in fact from Milan fair the new venue for speed skating competitions.
View of the Oval Lingotto, site of the speed skating events during the Torino 2006 Winter Games (Credits – Lingotto Fiere Torino)Today, however, strong support came to the rescue of Turin. It remains to be seen whether or not this support will have an impact.
This Monday morning, the Vice-President of the Italian Council, also at the head of the powerful Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, thus reiterated his encouragement for the integration of Piedmont within the system of the 2026 Olympics, not lacking in the passage of scratch the old Turinese municipality.
As stated in particular by the leader of the Northern League, Matteo Salvini, during a trip to Piedmont:
let’s see if we can [demain] include a piece of Piedmont.
Piedmont wanted to stay out [de la candidature aux Jeux] because of a genius of No. He therefore risks today staying out of the Games which will bring Italy to the eyes of the whole world and which will guarantee economic benefits of at least 5 billion euros..
This support was obviously more than appreciated by the authorities of Turin and Piedmont respectively led by Stefano Lo Russo (Democratic Party) and Alberto Cirio (Forza Italia), demonstrating here the transpartisan enthusiasm generated by the prospect of the Games.
As the two chosen ones explained:
The will expressed by the government to consider the option of Turin as one of the sites of the next Games of 2026 is really excellent news.
We continue to believe that this event is extremely important for Italy and we would be happy to contribute to the success of the event, especially from the point of view of economic and environmental sustainability.
We have been working in close synergy for months so that Turin and Piedmont can play a leading role.
(Credits – Milano-Cortina 2026)Before knowing whether or not Turin will be part of the Olympic and Paralympic event in 2026, the meeting of the Games Control Authority promises lively discussions and exchanges between the stakeholders in the project.
There is no doubt that Matteo Salvini should on this occasion again plead for participation – albeit late – of the Host City of the 2006 Games and its region.
Already largely involved in the preparations, especially in terms of investmentsLombardy and Veneto could be tempted to retaliate even if the room for maneuver seems narrow, all the more so considering the place occupied in the governance of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games by the Italian State, which has taken over the preparations since last summer.
The parties will have to weigh the pros and cons anyway, with the perspective of yet another upheaval in the mapping of the Games, a mapping and the preparations that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) scrutinizes with vigilance.
