Neureuther explains this in “Playing with the Alps” on BR

The next Winter Olympics will take place in Italy and should be sustainable. Is that so? Felix Neureuther investigates the matter.

The next Winter Olympics will take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026. After Pyeongchang and Beijing, the major event returns to a traditional winter sports resort in Europe – and to Italy. The Winter Games in Turin took place there in 2006.

Former ski racer Felix Neureuther showed in the BR documentary “Playing with the Alps” that the facilities there now resemble ruins. What traces did the major event at that time leave behind?

Bianca Elzenbaumer is committed to protecting the environment. She says to Neureuther in the 2006 documentary about the ski jumping facility: “The trees are growing on the runway, the stands are overgrown. What value does the structure now have for the region?” According to Neureuther, 40 million euros were invested at the time. Maintaining the facility after the games cost the community more than one million euros per year – this was no longer sustainable in the long term.

The Winter Games are scheduled to take place in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in 2026. According to the promotional video, the “most sustainable and unforgettable games of all time” will take place in Italy.

Neureuther went to the location of the future event for the documentary. Actually, only existing sports facilities should be used there – no new ones should be created. The old bobsleigh track from the 1956 Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo still existed until recently. But: It was too dilapidated and was torn down. Contrary to the promises of the Olympic organizers, a new one is now being built. The construction is expected to cost 120 million euros and forest would have to make way for it.

A new biathlon stadium is also being built in Antholz for around 50 million euros. Although, according to Neureuter, “there was already a stadium there that was suitable for the World Cup,” which was only rebuilt in 2006. An underground shooting range, new fitness rooms and a new snow-making system are to be built.

The planning for a water storage basin for artificial snow production in the forest is also controversial. Because the area is currently guaranteed to have snow and there is no need to use artificial snow.

But the many planning of the sports facilities are not the only problem. The infrastructure in the valleys should also be expanded. New paths or roundabouts made of concrete are to be built for 300 million euros. The population is now very critical of the Olympic project.

One person who will be actively affected by the games and who has watched the documentary is the German ski jumper Andreas Wellinger. The tour runner-up told BR that he was “shocked” by the pictures and information. The fact that Turin’s ski jumping facility from 2006 has now fallen into such disrepair “is extremely bitter. It’s not what we want to present ourselves with in sport,” says Wellinger.

At the 2026 Games, however, no new ski jump will have to be built for the DSV eagles and ski jumpers. They use the existing one in Predazzo, which is two hours away from the actual Olympic hustle and bustle. Despite the long journey, Wellinger said it was “definitely the right decision”. The next two years will show how the situation in Cortina d’Ampezzo develops by then.