MILAN
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics open on Friday as the Games return to their traditional heartland of the European Alps for the first time in 20 years, while organisers are praying skiing great Lindsey Vonn is fit to compete. These Games will use a host of existing venues, meaning they will stretch for 350 kilometres (217 miles) across northern Italy from Cortina — one of the world’s iconic skiing locations — to Milan, with other “clusters” spread through the Alps. Organisers say that avoiding new construction meets the sustainable brief for an event often accused of creating white elephants, but they admit it has added complexity too.
