(ATR) The Olympic Games will return to Italy for 2026.
The Milan-Cortina bid defeated Stockholm-Are in the vote among IOC members after both bids presented to the IOC Session in Lausanne on Monday.
The final vote was 47-34, with one abstention. The vote was the first order of business for the 134th IOC Session, taking place at the Swiss Tech Convention Center in Lausanne.
The Milan bid stressed the public and government support that buttresses the Italian bid. While Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte underscored that support in his remarks, gold medal athletes from recent Winter Olympic Games delivered most of the final presentation to IOC members.
Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill champion, addressed IOC President Thomas Bach, who presented her an Olympic gold medal after she won in PyeongChang: "Here we have another finish line – Milan Cortina 2026, which has the athletes at the heart of the project."
Milan-Cortina calls for a spread of venues across the Lombardy and Veneto regions around Milan. While 13 existing venues will be used, at least two other venues will require renovations. The plans call for construction of a new 15,000 seat hockey arena and an Olympic Village.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, regarding the ice hockey arena, told the IOC Session that a new agreement reached in the past few days means the venue will be built regardless of the Games.
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics will be the first for Italy since Torino 2006. Cortina hosted the 1956 Winter Games. Rome 1960 was the last time Italy hosted a Summer Games. The Eternal City's 2024 bid was scuppered when a new city government decided not to back it.
The decision in Italy to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics is the reason the IOC Session is being held in Lausanne this week. Milan was designated two years ago to host the 2019 IOC Session, but soon a conflict arose when plans gelled for an Olympic bid from Milan. IOC rules prohibit a country from hosting an IOC Session if one of its cities is also bidding. That led the IOC to move the Session one year ago to Lausanne.
Now, as host of the 2026 Games, Milan will also get a second chance to hold an IOC Session, this time on the eve of the 2026 Olympics.
Written by Ed Hula in Lausanne
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