From Milan to Cortina, a look on the 2026 Winter Olympics venues

[ad_1] With 100 days to go, northern Italy is gearing as much as host the Milan-Cortina Olympics, probably the most unfold out Winter Video games in historical past.

The 2 fundamental clusters of the Video games are Milan - the beating coronary heart of Italy's industrial north - and Cortina d'Ampezzo, an upscale winter resort within the Dolomites mountain vary. Guests ought to anticipate a full day of journey between the 2 areas, that are greater than 400 kilometres aside by highway.

As well as, athletes will compete in three different mountain clusters, whereas the closing ceremony will probably be held in Verona, the biggest metropolis within the northeastern Veneto area.

The Video games will largely make use of current infrastructure, although some venues are being renovated or constructed from scratch. Here is a more in-depth have a look at the venues:

MILAN San Siro Stadium: The opening ceremony will probably be held in Milan's iconic 80,000-seat San Siro stadium, residence of town's two well-known soccer groups - AC Milan and Inter Milan. Will probably be a final hurrah for the historic venue, which is ready to be demolished and changed by a brand new teams-owned stadium after the video games.

Santagiulia enviornment: The timeline is tight for the brand new 16,000-seat enviornment that may function the principle hockey venue for the Video games. A check occasion scheduled for December needed to be moved, however organizers are assured that it will likely be accomplished by the tip of the yr. New check occasions have been set for Jan. Sep 11, lower than a month earlier than the primary puck is dropped on the Olympics.

The primary Olympics match on the fundamental hockey enviornment is the ladies's preliminary spherical competitors on Feb. 5, simply at some point earlier than the opening ceremony.

"We're satisfied that we'll have a stupendous facility, and we will probably be able to do the check occasion the primary week of January, which will probably be essential as a result of it has by no means been used," Milan-Cortina CEO Andrea Varnier stated.

"We have to check the ice, which is momentary not everlasting, and likewise the operate of the complete facility, which will probably be closely visited."

The multipurpose facility, which is being constructed by non-public buyers, is slated to turn out to be Italy's largest indoor enviornment and is an impressive sight to these arriving into the southeastern periphery of Milan.

Ice park: Whereas the ice hockey finals will probably be held within the Santagiulia Area, some matches will happen within the Fiera Milano exhibition venue, which may also host the velocity skating. The commerce truthful advanced, which opened in 2005 within the northwest of Milan, will use momentary constructions for the Video games.

The so-called Ice Park will occupy 4 pavilions of the large exhibition middle and comprise the Velocity Skating Stadium and the Rho Ice Hockey Area, which nonetheless must be accomplished. The Velocity Skating Stadium was delivered in August and the work to put down the ice was set to start out on Wednesday.

Ice skating enviornment: Brief monitor and determine skating occasions will happen within the Discussion board di Milano, a multipurpose facility that's primarily used for basketball, ice hockey and tennis in addition to dwell concert events. The 12,500-capacity venue within the southwestern outskirts of Milan was opened in 1990 and renovated in 2017, the yr earlier than it hosted the determine skating world championships.

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With the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics now 100 days away, two-time Olympic champion Sidney Crosby discusses the NHL's return and Canada's golden expectations in Italy. CORTINA Tofane alpine snowboarding centre: Usually known as the queen or the pearl of the Dolomites, Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956. The Olympia delle Tofane course would be the web site of the ladies's alpine snowboarding subsequent yr. The long-lasting slope is an everyday cease on the ladies's World Cup circuit and held the world championships in 2021.

Curling Olympic Stadium: Curling will happen within the Olympic Ice Stadium, one of many legacies of the 1956 Video games, when it additionally hosted the opening ceremony. The sector -- and Cortina typically -- additionally served as a filming location for the 1981 James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Solely," starring Roger Moore.

Cortina Sliding Centre: The century-old sliding centre has been utterly rebuilt for the 2026 Video games at a price of 118 million euros ($123 million US) amid staunch opposition from the Worldwide Olympic Committee. The timeframe was so tight that it necessitated a Plan B possibility that may have required shifting bobsled, luge and skeleton occasions all the best way to Lake Placid, N.Y.

Nonetheless, it seems the gamble has paid off with the IOC even saying just lately that the venue has "surpassed expectations." The monitor secured preliminary certification in March and check occasions are going down by way of November. Completion of the roofing and all of the services subsequent to the monitor is scheduled for Nov. 5.

BORMIO Males's alpine snowboarding will happen on the fearsome Stelvio course in Bormio, a famend fixture on the World Cup circuit. Veteran Italian skier Christof Innerhofer instructed The Related Press he cannot keep in mind a more durable course on the Olympics previously 30 years. The Stelvio Ski Centre may also be the venue for ski mountaineering, which will probably be making its Olympic debut. Bormio is about 200 km northeast of Milan.

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Take heed to CBC Sports activities' video essay by Chris Jones 100 days out from the 2026 Olympics. LIVIGNO Livigno, about an hour's drive north of Bormio, will host the sports activities maybe hottest amongst younger individuals. Snowboarding and freestyle snowboarding will probably be held at Livigno Snow Park and Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park, with 26 medals awarded. The small city in Valtellina, close to the border with Switzerland, proudly unveiled the Aerials and Moguls Park final December, boasting it had delivered the primary 2026 Olympic venue.

PREDAZZO Surrounded by the peaks of the Dolomites, Predazzo will probably be a shocking setting for the ski leaping occasions. Predazzo, about 80 km southwest of Cortina, is probably the most populated municipality in Val di Fiemme, an space which has a wealthy historical past of internet hosting Nordic snowboarding world championships and World Cup races.

The ski leaping facility spans an space of three,000 sq. metres and consists of two fundamental ramps for worldwide competitions in addition to coaching ramps and different outfitted areas for athletes.

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The Video games in Italy are just some months away and listed below are all the brand new occasions athletes will probably be taking part in. TESERO Tesero, lower than 10 km from Predazzo, will host the cross-country snowboarding occasions. The cross-country snowboarding stadium was opened in 1990, the yr earlier than the world hosted the nordic world ski championships for the primary time.

ANTERSELVA The biathlon competitors will probably be held in Anterselva, nestled within the South Tyrol mountains and with 60 km of tracks. The Anterselva Biathlon Area has a wealthy historical past with the game, having hosted the world championships a number of instances for the reason that 1970.

It additionally hosts World Cup races yearly. The city itself, which is close to the border with Austria, has a singular cultural heritage: greater than 98 per cent of the inhabitants communicate German as their mom tongue.

VERONA The closing ceremony will happen on the historic Verona Area, a big Roman amphitheatre constructed virtually 2,000 years in the past primarily used to host large-scale opera performances. It's an imposing presence in the principle piazza of Verona, which is a UNESCO world heritage metropolis.

Initially constructed to host 30,000 spectators in historical Roman instances, it at present has a capability of round half that for its world-famous summer season competition. About 15,000 spectators will probably be allowed for the closing ceremony on Feb. 22.