Fis boss sounds the alarm
“Inexplicable”: Snow problem before the Olympics
12/20/2025 – 10:10 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The Olympic Games will take place in northern Italy at the beginning of February. But not everything is as it should be.
Bormio, Antholz, Cortina d’Ampezzo. The list of competition locations for the 2026 Winter Olympics with a great winter sports tradition is impressive. Nevertheless, the preparations for the big event next February are anything but smooth, if Johan Eliasch is to be believed. Because the president of the World Ski Association raised the alarm about the snow conditions a month and a half before the games. The delays in preparations are “inexplicable,” said the Fis boss on the sidelines of the Women’s Alpine World Cup in Val d’Isère, France.
The Swedish-British official said that “not everything is ready” for the Olympics: “The Italian government and the regions that are hosting the Games still have a lot to do and need to speed up preparations.” The greatest concern is therefore about the facilities in Livigno, where the snowboard and ski freestyle competitions are to take place.
The organizing committee for the games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo had already confirmed to the AFP news agency last week that there had been a technical problem in the production of artificial snow on site.
This is also why the worry lines for Eliasch and his team are so big. “We call three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening,” explained the Fis boss: “There is this problem with snow production. There have been delays. Unfortunately, the Italian government has not released any funds, so the organizers are fighting for survival.” Even if there are alternative plans, you are now in a situation that you “should never have been in,” said Eliasch.
In order to be able to cover the snow park in Livigno with snow and create the elements, jumps and half pipes needed for the competitions, the organizers have to produce large quantities of artificial snow. Their snow cannons are supplied with water from the Monte Sponda reservoir, a mountain reservoir with a capacity of 203,000 cubic meters.
The construction of the 21.7 million euro reservoir was completed at the end of November. The production of artificial snow was originally scheduled to begin last week.