At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions will take place outside Italy.
Giovanni Malago, head of organization for the games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, announced this at the IOC session in Mumbai, India. Austria has already offered the organizers the use of its railway in Innsbruck. This is the first time in the 102-year history of the Winter Games that competitions will take place outside the host country.
New construction of the demolished Eugenio Monti railway abandoned
The background to the relocation is the decision that plans to rebuild the demolished Eugenio Monti railway in Cortina were abandoned after no company applied for the tender. There was also growing opposition because of the financial and environmental impacts.
Check all options and alternatives
Just two days ago, the Italian government informed the organizers that they should not go ahead with the project in Cortina and instead consider a sustainable option, Malago said: “We are already working on examining all possible solutions and alternatives together with the IOC and the international associations.”