Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Face Tight Deadlines for Key Venue Completion

Organizers race to finish the Cortina sliding track amid concerns over delays and environmental impact.

• The 2026 Winter Olympics will be the most geographically widespread in history, spanning multiple clusters across northern Italy.
• Construction of the Cortina sliding track is 70% complete, with a March deadline for pre-certification set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
• A backup plan to host sliding events in Lake Placid, New York, has been prepared in case the Cortina track is not finished on time.
• Environmental groups have criticized the construction, citing the felling of hundreds of trees, though organizers plan to plant 10,000 new trees after the Games.
• The Milan-Cortina Games are the first to fully embrace IOC cost-cutting reforms, relying heavily on existing venues to reduce expenses.

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