Italian 2026 Winter Olympic events to be staged abroad after cost of new sliding track spirals

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Italy will be forced to stage parts of the 2026 Winter Olympics abroad after funding for a new sliding track was pulled.

The Italian government will no longer pay for an expensive redevelopment of the historic Eugenio Monti track at Cortina d’Ampezzo, which was used in the 1956 Winter Games. The century-old track closed down 15 years ago and costs have spiralled well beyond the original €50m estimate.

It means bobsled, luge and skeleton events at the Milan-Cortina Olympics will need to be held outside the country, most likely either at the sliding track in Igls, Austria or St Moritz, Switzerland.

“Recent years’ dramatic international scenario has forced a reflection on the resources regionally allocated by the Italian government as investment for this specific venue,” organizing committee leader Giovanni Malago said at the International Olympic Committee’s annual meeting being held in Mumbai, India.

“This venue has been at the center of a long and controversial process,” Malago acknowledged, after a tender for the work produced no viable contractor.

The IOC had long been skeptical about the Cortina sliding track project and urges Olympic hosts to avoid building venues which do not fulfil a proven need for local communities.

Using venues outside a host country is now encouraged to limit costs for Olympic organizers who typically overspend budgets.

Malago said Milan-Cortina officials will decide which sliding track to use after consulting with the IOC.

Milan-Cortina won hosting rights in 2019, beating a Swedish bid centered on Stockholm that planned to use a sliding track in Latvia.

Additional reporting by AP