This is only the beginning of the problems but criticism is already raining down on the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Italian newspapers are already worried about the first controversies appearing in the foreign press around the organization of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The local daily La Repubblica ventured into a first foreign press review, after the arrival of correspondents on site for the start of the tests at the end of the week. “With the arrival of correspondents from all over the world, discontent and controversies are beginning to rise in the foreign press,” warns La Repubblica.
“Monster traffic jams”
The New York Times immediately denounces the “logistical nightmare” represented by these Games organized “on eight different sites, spread over approximately 22,000 square km in northern Italy”. According to the American newspaper, each new tunnel or bus line extension was promoted as a resounding “victory” in the face of the risk of bitter failure.
The New York Times cites in particular the traffic problems and “monster traffic jams”, without forgetting the controversies linked to public transport. The expulsion of an 11-year-old child from a bus because he did not have an Olympic ticket was not lost on them.
La Repubblica is also concerned about criticism from Germany and Bild, which points to delays in the work. The daily cites in particular the Apollonio-Socrepes cable car in Cortina, which will only be finished in “two weeks” or at the end of the Winter Olympic Games.
The Italian press finally cites the French press and Le Monde which criticize the use of artificial snow, and the 1.6 million cubic meters manufactured for the smooth running of the events.
