The games start in a month
Hole in the ice: Olympic dress rehearsal interrupted for minutes
Updated on January 10, 2026 – 12:04 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The Olympic Games open in four weeks. But the preparations are not yet complete. This is also shown by an incident in ice hockey.
In the Santa Giulia Olympic Hall in Milan, an ice hockey cup game on Friday evening was interrupted for five minutes by a hole in the ice. The hall is not yet fully completed, raising concerns ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The hall intended for the Olympic ice hockey tournaments is still under construction. Construction workers are still working in the stands, cables are on the ground and scaffolding tubes are visible. The changing rooms aren’t finished yet either. However, Pierre Ducrey, sports director at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), answered in the negative when asked whether the arena would not be ready in time.
When asked by the AFP news agency, the organizers said that the hall was structurally completed and that only “the finishing touches” remained.
Developments are being closely monitored, particularly in North America, as NHL players are taking part in the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly had previously threatened that the Stars would not play if the ice was unsafe.
Don Moffatt of the Colorado Avalanche, who is in charge of the ice in Milan, said he was happy with the playing surface and that such teething problems could occur.