CORTINA 2021: WORKING FOR A CHAMPION EVENT

The last two days have proven intense for Fondazione Cortina 2021. Yesterday, the FIS coordination meeting took place. Held at regular intervals, it allows delegates from FIS – International Ski Federation, FISI and Infront to meet with Fondazione Cortina 2021 and the municipal authorities of Cortina d’Ampezzo. The aim was to get everyone up to speed on the organisation of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, with fewer than 130 days to go to the start of the event. Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the FIS, expressed her satisfaction with the work accomplished.

Today instead saw Fondazione Cortina 2021 taking centre stage at Milan’s Hangar Bicocca for the FISI Media Day, the first in a series of events being held to celebrate the hundredth birthday of the FISI (the Italian Federation of Winter Sports), and a century of excitement and success stories for Italy's Azzurri. Alongside Flavio Roda, President of the FISI, the event also saw the participation of Alessandro Benetton, President of Fondazione Cortina 2021, and Lorenzo Tardini, Sales & Marketing Director of Fondazione Cortina 2021. It also featured some of Italy’s best-loved ski champions, including Sofia Goggia, Ambassador to the World Ski Championships, and Federica Brignone, Ambassador for Corty, the Championship’s mascot.

In his speech, Alessandro Benetton explained that everything in Cortina is ready for hosting the most important event of the coming winter season, and for ensuring the safety standards required by the pandemic are respected in full. Benetton outlined some of the key works undertaken in the run-up to the World Championships (including the Olympia delle Tofane, Vertigine, Druscié A and Lacedelli courses), while recalling the values that have guided Fondazione Cortina 2021 in these years. In particular, Benetton highlighted the legacy of infrastructures and skills already in place in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Lorenzo Tardini explained what form the opening ceremony of the World Championships will take. Scheduled to be held in Piazzale della Stazione on the evening of 7 February, it will feature a tribute to the Queen of the Dolomites, spotlighting the beautiful man-made and natural sights of the Veneto region. Combined with the charm of the modern-day Carnival of Venice and Verona's opera singers, the show looks set to astonish audiences. Tardini then went on to outline the logistics of the World Championships, illustrating key figures for the event – over 600 athletes from 70 different countries, and 500 million viewers watching live all over the world – whilst also reminding that ticketing is scheduled to go live on 19 October.

Alessandro Benetton, President of Fondazione Cortina 2021, said: "Everything is ready in Cortina for hosting these World Championships. We can't wait to get started, everyone is raring to go. I’d like to thank the people that have made all this possible. It's an exceptional team. It hasn’t once stopped working, not even during lockdown, and has analysed every opportunity and weighed up all the potential scenarios in the current pandemic."

"The Italian Government has respected the schedule for the main works," commented Valerio Toniolo,

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