The town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, one of Italy's most famous ski resorts, is gearing up to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics, marking a return of the Games to one of its traditional European bases for the first time in two decades.

Cortina d'Ampezzo

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Climate Crisis

The town of Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy is set to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Known for its popular ski resort, the town is currently facing challenges in meeting its preparation deadlines. One significant project, the sliding centre for Olympic events such as bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge, needs to be completed against a looming deadline. This project, with an estimated cost of $123 million, has experienced delays, largely due to the scarcity of natural snow, a situation exacerbated by climate change.

Despite these challenges, Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi remains optimistic that the sliding centre will be ready on time. While Lake Placid in the United States was considered a backup venue, local authorities have committed to completing the sliding centre in Cortina instead. Some critics, including activist Marina Minardi, are concerned about the need for the sliding centre, citing the decline in popularity and media exposure of the bobsleigh sport in the region. 

The broader issue of climate change presents a significant challenge to traditional winter sports locations like Cortina. An environmental lobby group, Legambiente, notes that most of Italy's ski slopes rely heavily on artificial snow, a practice that may not be viable long-term due to the increasing impacts of climate change. According to preliminary research from the International Olympic Committee, only a limited number of countries may be able to host the Winter Games by 2040 as temperatures continue to rise.



Snow in short supply as Italy readies to host the Winter Olympics

High up in the Dolomites, in the town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, the heat is on. The famous Italian ski resort is preparing to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, but there are concerns it won't all be ready in time. The town is up against a March deadline to complete a sliding centre for athletes booked in to test it for the first time. But finishing the centre, which will stage Olympic bob, skeleton and luge competitions, is giving local organisers a headache, especially because climate change has meant natural snow is in short supply. But despite the risk of losing the sliding events that are the US's Lake Placid, which has been designated as a long-distance backup, Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi is staying positive. There are backups for everything, but it's not worth taking them out. As of today, the plan B for the bob races does not exist because it has been made clear the sliding centre is being built here. When the International Olympic Committee had suggested using existing venues in neighbouring countries, the Veneto region and the national government ultimately opted for a full rebuilding of Cortina's Eugenio Monti track. Named after an Italian bobsleigh racer who won two silver medals at the last Winter Olympics held there in 1956, the revamped site has an estimated cost of $123 million. But critics argue it risks being a white elephant. Here's activist Marina Minardi. We won't need the sliding centre because bobsleigh is a sport that no longer has any athletes and it will be difficult, I would say impossible, to relaunch because it doesn't even have media exposure and it is difficult to find sponsors. There are about 20 or so bobsleigh athletes and another 30 or so between luge and skeleton, so it's a sport that will have no future and we won't be saddled with it. The return of the Games to Europe comes when climate change and rising temperatures are posing an existential threat to many of the region's traditional skiing centres. Some 90% of Italy's ski slopes rely on artificial snow, compared with 70% in Austria and 39% in France, according to environmental lobby Legambiente. And Cortina is no exception with its snow guns, but these methods are not sustainable in the long term. Preliminary research from the IOC has warned that only 10 nations will be able to host the Winter Games by 2040 due to climate change.

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