(ATR) The Italian government is officially throwing its support behind a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Council of Ministers did make it clear, however, that there is a list of requirements that must be met by whichever bid is chosen by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI).
Milan, Turin and Cortina d’Ampezzo are the competing cities. Each turned in a feasibility study to CONI on Tuesday. CONI is expected to decide on July 10 which bid, or possibly a combination of bids, will move on as the Italian candidate.
In a statement on Friday, the Italian government "expressed its willingness to guarantee the Government's support for the Italian candidature".
But there will be no blank check being handed out.
The support is "subject to the experimentation of every possible attempt to find shared solutions, with regard, as a priority, to the containment of the overall costs and to the enhancement of the cost/benefit ratio of the event, taking into account the sustainability of the project at a social and environmental level, the legacy of the Games towards the city, the country and future generations."
The Italian government’s announcement that it is supporting a 2026 bid comes just hours after the Austrian bid centered in Graz was abandoned by the Austrian Olympic Committee due to a lack of government support.
Graz joins Sion on the growing list of candidate cities who are now out of the running. Swiss voters shot down the Sion bid in a referendum last month. Earlier bids by Graubunden in Switzerland and Innsbruck in Austria also failed to pass muster with voters in referendums.
The Italian bid still faces competition from Stockholm, Sapporo, Calgary and Erzurum, Turkey.
As of now, only Erzurum appears assured of having the support of both the government and public in its effort to host in 2026.
Written by Gerard Farek
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