(ATR) Any Italian bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics cannot emerge until after a coalition government is formed in Italy following elections earlier this month.
An Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) spokesperson tellsAround the Rings that bids from Milan and Turin will be submitted to the IOC to satisfy the March 31 deadline for the 2026 process. The future of those bids is contingent upon support from a future government, as well as the city governments.
IOC President Thomas Bach and Director General Christophe de Kepper met with CONI President Giovanni Malagò in Lausanne on Tuesday. Bach and de Kepper heard about progress on the 2019 IOC Session in Milan, the upcoming international sporting events in Italy, and discussed the 2026 candidature process, according to a release.
To be awarded the 2026 Olympic Games will require a change to IOC rules in favor of Italian officials. The Olympic Charter states that a country cannot be awarded an Olympic Games when holding an IOC Session. That means an Italian Olympics cannot currently be awarded at the Milan IOC Session.
"CONI has received a lot of requests by various cities in the last month, but of course we have to wait on the new government," the spokesperson said to ATR. "So we need to answer that question [of which coalition]. Of course IOC was very happy and appreciated the growing interest for Olympic Games in Italy. Various cities are good for the IOC because all leaders of Italian [political] parties have expressed in favor of the Olympics."
Various other cities around Italy besides Milan and Turin have explored bids for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The Veneto region has floated the idea of hosting the Games, but lacks a central city to serve as host.
Other cities to officially declare their interest to host the 2026 Winter Olympics include Calgary, Sapporo, Stockholm and Sion, Switzerland. Other bids have until March 31 to inform the IOC of their intentions. In October, the IOC will determine which 2026 Winter Olympic bids go forward before a decision is reached at the 2019 Session.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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