It will be Italy’s third Winter Olympics, after Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006. With the 1960 Rome Summer Olympics, Italy will have hosted the Olympics four times overall.
The Games will feature eight sports and 16 disciplines, with 116 gold medals at stake — seven more than Beijing 2022 (109). Competition will be staged across four clusters in northern Italy: the major city of Milan; the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo; and the Valtellina-Bormio and Val di Fiemme areas. Organizers say it is the widest geographic footprint of any Olympics. Olympic cauldrons will be installed in both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) apart, roughly a five-hour drive.
Organizers say the plan aligns with the International Olympic Committee’s push for sustainability by limiting new construction. Of the 25 venues, 19 are existing facilities and four are temporary. Only two venues were newly built for the Olympics. Sustainability efforts also extend to the medals and torches: Medals were cast using metals recovered from waste and made with renewable energy, and the torch uses recycled aluminum and other materials as its main components.
The official slogan is “IT’s Your Vibe,” a message aimed at sharing solidarity, energy and passion among everyone involved in the Olympics. The emblem, titled “Futura” — Italian for “future” — was chosen through a public vote and features a simple design resembling the number “26” traced by a finger on snow.
The official mascots, Tina and Milo, are characters based on martens that live in Italy’s mountain regions. Their names come from Cortina and Milan. Tina, in brighter colors, represents the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics, while her younger brother Milo, with darker fur, represents the Winter Paralympics.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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