The bobsled, luge and skeleton events at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be held outside of Italy, making it the first Winter Olympics to be held across multiple countries.
Organizers announced Monday that previous plans to rebuild the sliding track at Cortina d’Ampezzo, site of the 1956 Winter Olympics, have been scrapped.
No alternative venue has been announced.
In recent years, Olympic officials have prioritized existing venues over costly new projects.
The closest existing sliding tracks on the World Cup circuit are in Igls, Austria (83 miles northwest of Cortina) and St. Moritz, Switzerland (110 miles west of Cortina).
The venue for the 2006 Turin Winter Games has not been considered as it was last used for a major competition in 2011.
Giovanni Malago, President of the 2026 Winter Olympics, said: “Just two days ago, the government asked us to consider the best and most sustainable option of not proceeding with the Sliding Center and moving the sliding competition to an existing, operational venue. have been notified.” He told IOC members at a meeting in Mumbai, India, on Monday. “As a result, the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will need to identify an alternative venue outside Italy. We are already working on considering all possible solutions.
“The dramatic international scenario of recent years has forced us to reconsider the resources initially allocated by the Italian government as an investment in this particular venue, and we have identified several construction companies capable of carrying out a complex project like the sliding center. The ability to attract has not produced many companies.Results.
Milan-Cortina was selected to host the 2026 Winter Olympics by IOC committee members in 2019.
It defeated a Stockholm-centric bid that proposed holding the sliding event in Sigulda, Latvia.