Milan-Cortina 2026: The expensive price of Italian pride
Less than three weeks before the flame is lit, the 'sustainable' Games are revealing their true cost. Between a bobsleigh track forced through despite IOC warnings and an operating budget that defied gravity, the bill for the Winter Olympics is a cold shower for the 'New Norm'.
On February 6, the world will turn its eyes to the San Siro. We will applaud the athletes, marvel at the Italian style, and likely forget, for a fortnight, the astronomical receipt sitting in the drawer. But here, in the editorial offices of Pulsar, we don't have the memory of a goldfish. As the finishing touches are applied to the villages in Milan and Cortina, a question haunts the spreadsheets: wasn't this supposed to be the era of the "Low Cost" Olympics?
Remember June 2019. The IOC, traumatized by the gigantic deficits of Sochi and the lack of bidders, sold us a dream: the "New Norm". Flexible, sustainable, cheaper Games. Milan-Cortina won against Stockholm by promising to use 90% existing infrastructure. Seven years later, the economic reality is as biting as a wind in the Dolomites.
The "Zero Build" Mirage
The official narrative is a masterpiece of semantic gymnastics. Yes, the operating budget has been kept relatively under control (hovering around €1.7 billion), largely thanks to a drop in inflation in 2024. But this accounting trick hides the elephant in the room: the infrastructure costs, paid for by the taxpayer, which have exploded.
The most glaring symbol of this drift? The Eugenio Monti track in Cortina. A caprice, purely and simply. The IOC begged Italy not to rebuild this relic. "Go to St. Moritz, go to Innsbruck," they urged. Logic dictated it: why spend €118 million (a conservative estimate) for a sport—bobsleigh—that has fewer practitioners in Italy than curling?
"We will not be the ones to take the Olympics abroad. The track will be built in Cortina, cost what it may." — Matteo Salvini, 2023.
And cost it did. Not just in money, but in credibility. We saw a tender deserted by construction companies, a desperate rescue by the Pizzarotti firm, and a construction site managed on a schedule so tight it would give a Swiss watchmaker a panic attack. Today, the track is there. It is frozen. It works. But at what price for the future?
| Metric | 2019 Promise (The Dream) | 2026 Reality (The Check) |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Budget | €1.3 Billion | ~€1.7 Billion |
| Cortina Track Cost | €50 Million | €118 Million+ |
| Venues Readiness | "Existing and Ready" | Rush finish (Jan 2026) |
| Logistics | "Compact Games" | 400km between clusters |
A Logistic Nightmare Disguised as a Postcard
Beyond the euros, there is the hidden cost of dispersion. These are the most decentralized Games in history. Athletes will spend hours in shuttles between Milan, Livigno, Bormio, and Cortina. This geographical spread, sold as a way to spread the economic benefits, is primarily a logistical abyss (and an ecological nonsense, despite the green promises).
The economic impact studies, published with great fanfare by Banca Ifis, predict a €5.3 billion boost. Perhaps. But these multipliers are often as inflated as a hot air balloon. They count every coffee sold in Veneto for two years as an "Olympic impact". The reality for the local hotelier in Bormio? He will fill his rooms in February 2026, certainly. But who will come to slide down the Cortina track in 2027, 2028, or 2030? The ghost of the Cesana Torinese track, abandoned after Turin 2006, still hovers.
👀 Why did we almost lose the bobsleigh?
It was a poker game. In late 2023, the IOC refused to validate the Cortina project, deeming it too risky and expensive. They had a Plan B ready: Lake Placid, USA. Imagine the humiliation for Italy—hosting the Winter Games but sending the iconic sliding sports to the other side of the Atlantic. It was this threat that pushed the government to open the checkbook and force the construction, regardless of the long-term economic logic.
The Price of Sovereignty
Ultimately, Milan-Cortina 2026 teaches us one thing: the Olympics remain a geopolitical object before being an economic product. The rational choice was to share the Games with Switzerland or Austria. The political choice was to keep everything at home, even if it meant pouring concrete over a protected forest and blowing the budget.
So, enjoy the show in three weeks. The opening ceremony at San Siro will be grandiose. The Italians know how to throw a party. But when the fireworks fade, the taxpayers of Lombardy and Veneto will be left holding a very heavy torch.
