The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics officially opened on Friday, February 6, with a ceremony staged across four locations in northern Italy. The main opening event took place at San Siro Stadium, one of Milan's most significant modernist landmarks, and combined dance and performing arts, referencing Italian culture with performances by international artists, including pop star Mariah Carey. Although several competitions had already begun on February 4, the opening ceremony marked the start of a broader programme of sporting, social, and cultural events distributed across Milan and the three Alpine host areas: Cortina d'Ampezzo, Valtellina, and Val di Fiemme. The Games are scheduled to run until February 22, concluding with a closing ceremony at the Verona Arena, ahead of the Paralympic Games, which will take place from March 6 to 15. As a large-scale international event, the Olympics place significant demands on sports infrastructure, transportation networks, accommodation, and tourism capacity, offering early indications of the longer-term urban, architectural, and territorial impacts the Games may leave behind.
The Olympic Villages
These Games have been noted for their ambitious territorial deployment, marking the first Olympic Games with two official host cities. As a result, athletes, delegations, and spectators are spread across multiple locations in Italy, with athlete accommodations situated in Milan, Predazzo, Bormio, Livigno, Anterselva, and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Of these six sites, only one involves a newly constructed building: the Milano Olympic Village, designed by SOM, in line with a strategy that emphasizes the reuse and recovery of existing infrastructure. The Milano Olympic Village opened on February 1 and currently accommodates 1,559 residents representing 42 delegations. Construction was completed on schedule, and the complex is planned to be converted into university student housing after the Games. More broadly, the event organizers have presented the reuse of existing venues and facilities as a low-impact approach, prioritizing environmental considerations, although this strategy also entails prolonged renovation processes at the local level.
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The Sports Venues
The decentralization that characterizes the Games responds not only to a premise of reuse, but also, and more decisively, to the territorial requirements of the Winter Olympics. While Milan will primarily host the ice events, including competitions in a new arena designed by David Chipperfield Architects and the adaptation of the Fiera Milano Rho exhibition center into an ice skating venue, the remaining events will take place in clusters around Cortina d'Ampezzo and the Valtellina and Val di Fiemme valleys. Concerns surrounding sports venues are largely related to sustainability, particularly the widespread use of artificial snowmaking. This technology requires significant amounts of water and energy and has prompted substantial infrastructural interventions in sensitive environments, drawing criticism from environmental advocates and scientists. On the other hand, the organizers have stated their commitment to using 100 percent renewable energy and to limiting food waste by redistributing surplus food to local charities. Additionally, more than 20,000 pieces of equipment from the Paris Games were repurchased for use during Milano Cortina 2026.
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The Host Cities
During the event, cities are transformed into stages not only for sporting competitions, but also for ceremonies, performances, and the accompanying flow of people. According to Fondazione Milano Cortina, the XXV Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony received a strong reception, acting as "a powerful driving force for the audience of the entire sporting event." Events of this scale involve not only accommodation and activities for athletes and their delegations, but also for spectators and the extensive workforce that supports them, including a broad network of media centers. In this context, concerns focus on the impact that visitor accommodation, travel, and consumption may have on host territories, raising questions around overtourism and placing additional pressure on infrastructure primarily designed for residents. Within a global context marked by ongoing conflicts and political polarization, the Olympic stage has also functioned as a platform for protest and political expression.
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We invite you to check out ArchDaily's comprehensive coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026.
