It is the third time that the Olympic Winter Games have been hosted by Italy. Cortina d’Ampezzo first held the Games in 1956. It was intended to be the venue for the Olympics back in 1944 but that plan was thwarted by the war. It was in Cortina that figure skater Karol Divín came in fifth place and thus became the first Slovak sportsman to earn points in an individual event at the Olympic Winter Games.
Fifty years later Turin welcomed the Olympians. Radoslav Židek won silver in Bardonecchia in the snowboard cross, on its debut as an Olympic discipline; it was the first medal from the Olympic Winter Games for the independent Slovakia.
The hosts of the XXVth Olympic Winter Games were elected at the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne on 29th June 2019. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo beat Stockholm and Åre (Sweden) as early as the first round.
The Games are scheduled to take place from 6th to 22nd February. 2,900 athletes will take part in the Games, of which 1,362 will be women (47 %). These Olympic Winter Games will be the most gender-balanced event in its history. The Olympians will compete in 8 sports, 16 disciplines and 116 events. While ski mountaineering is to make its Olympic debut at the Games, the programme also includes several new disciplines within existing Olympic sports. Milan is set to be the central venue. It is where the opening ceremony will take place and will also host the majority of “ice” competitions (figure skating, ice hockey and short track speed skating). The male alpine skiers and ski mountaineers are to compete in Bormio, while the female alpine skiers will be in Cortina d´Ampezzo, which will also host the bobsleigh, curling, luge and skeleton competitions. The well-known resort of Anterselva is the venue for the biathlon. Livigno will experience the snowboarding and freestyle competitions and the Val di Fiemme region will be home to the cross-country skiing.
The official motto of the Games of the XXV Olympiad, held in Milan and Cortina in 2026, is “IT's Your Vibe”, an expression of the desire to celebrate the energy, passion and links between athletes, officials, fans and volunteers...
Zdenka Letenayová
