MILAN (ITALPRESS) – The official countdown ahead of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games kicked off today. Exactly one year before the opening ceremony to be held at the San Siro Stadium, the “One Year to Go” event was celebrated: in Milan’s iconic Strehler Theater, IOC President Thomas Bach symbolically handed out invitations to the presidents and representatives of the NOCs during a closed-door ceremony attended by the highest authorities of the host territories and the Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation. “Dear friends,” Bach said in his opening remarks, “Pierre de Coubertin said ‘the games are a pilgrimage into the past and an act of faith of the future.’ The Milan Cortina Olympic Games embody this vision, building on Italy’s great sporting heritage. These will be the first games to benefit from the reforms of our Olympic agenda. Together with everyone, we look forward to the Games.” Also in attendance were Coni and Milan Cortina 2026 Foundation president Giovanni Malagò, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, Vice-Premier and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini, Veneto Region President Luca Zaia, Autonomous Province of Trento President Maurizio Fugatti, Autonomous Province of Bolzano President Arno Kompatscher, Cortina Mayor Gianluca Lorenzi and Lombardy Region President Attilio Fontana. “On behalf of the entire Foundation team, we are aware of the responsibilities we have to meet and indeed improve on the enormous expectations,” Malagò added. “We are aware of the many things that are still to be done between now and a year from now, but our goal is for Italy to come out in a wonderful way in the eyes of the world. And sport is the best way to do this.” A big event, then, to get into the spirit of the five-ring event: many side events, starting with the countdown a few steps away from Milan Cathedral, with the official clock that will mark the days, hours and minutes ahead of the grand opening. Also starting today will be a new phase related to tickets-the more than 350,000 people who have registered on the official platform will receive a dedicated time window to purchase tickets for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Instead, free sales for the Olympics will open in April. Also inaugurated in the afternoon was the Milano Cortina 2026 Sport Village Powered by Samsung & Enel, a space open to the public in the heart of Piazza Duomo that will allow people to experience all the excitement and enthusiasm of winter sports. For four weeks, tourists and Milanese citizens will therefore be able to participate in cultural and digital workshops for free, but above all they will be able to try their hand at two Olympic disciplines such as ice hockey and curling. “It will be 365 days that will travel very fast,” reiterated Sports and Youth Minister Andrea Abodi, “a year seems long but it will pass quickly and we still have to do things. We must not hide, but we can count on this spirit of cooperation to face the risks of this period in which we cannot make mistakes. But I am convinced that we will arrive in time and in the right conditions to make this event extraordinary,” he concluded.- photo uff st Milan Cortina 2026 -(ITALPRESS).
