Xinhua News Agency Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, February 21
Xinhua News Agency reporters Liu Yongqiu, Zhou Xiaotian, and Chen Zhanjie
At the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 20, Italy presented a wonderful "eight-minute" performance, with mayor Sara of Milan, Italy, and Mayor Of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Gedina, receiving the Olympic flag from IOC President Bach, marking the beginning of the countdown to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Italy is linked to the Winter Olympics
Italy has a high penetration rate of winter sports and is no stranger to the Winter Olympics. Cortina d'Ampezzo (Cortina) hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, while Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. On 24 June 2019, at the 134th Plenary Session of the International Olympic Committee, Milan and Cortina were awarded the right to host the XXV Winter Olympics in 2026. Milan is italy's financial center and fashion capital. Cortina is a famous ski resort in the Northern Italian Alps with a long tradition of winter sports, with pistes about 115 km long and more than 95% snow covered between December and April.
The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, italy's industrial powerhouse, had a lot of ideas. It was the first Winter Olympics to be held on an urban-mountain model: ice sports were held in the city center and snow events were held in the mountains. Sergio Chiam Parino, who served as mayor at the Turin Winter Olympics, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua news agency that the Turin Winter Olympics combine people's enthusiasm for ice and snow sports with feelings about "big cities". During the Winter Olympics, an award ceremony with small music and fireworks displays was held in the center of Turin, immersing the entire city from morning to night in the Olympic atmosphere and giving people a better understanding of the charm of the city.
Chiam Parino said that when it comes to Olympic venues, the Winter Olympics in Turin are committed to its versatility. The Turin Olympic Village was fully utilized after the Winter Olympics, solving the housing problems of some 700 families and providing some 2,000 beds for students in Turin.
The Turin Winter Olympics have been excellent in environmental protection. Ciamparino said Turin used and retrofitted existing facilities as much as possible, tried not to build new ones, and worked to mitigate the environmental impact of the Winter Olympics. In the process of renovating and constructing new Winter Olympic facilities, new technologies should be adopted as much as possible to reduce energy consumption. The United Nations Environment Programme has said that the water-saving measures of the Turin Winter Olympics, the protection of mountain ecology, environmentally friendly transportation programs, and the design of environmentally friendly buildings are all worthy of praise.
Get inspiration and inspiration from Beijing
The just-concluded Beijing Winter Olympics has injected new vitality into the Olympic Movement and also inspired the organizers of the next Winter Olympic Games. Italian Olympic Committee President Marago said that China and Italy hope to further extend the audience, sponsors and related industries of the Beijing Winter Olympics to the next edition through cooperation, "It is like an ocean wave, (from Beijing in 2022) rushing to Milan and Cortina in 2026, continuing to write a climax." ”
Carlo Monati, Secretary-General of the Italian Olympic Committee and head of the Italian Winter Olympic delegation, said that China's concept of "green, shared, open and clean" is in line with the spirit of the Olympic Agenda 2020, that is, the Olympic Games are moving towards a completely different dimension from the past, that is, sustainability – not only economically sustainable, but also ecologically sustainable. Monati said that the Beijing Winter Olympics have an important demonstration role.
Luigi Alvira, vice mayor of Cortina in charge of sports work, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that the organization of the Beijing Winter Olympics was very successful, and the Italian side attaches great importance to learning from China's experience in running the games. Preparations for the 2026 Winter Olympics are progressing, and the city hopes to build the venues as soon as possible.
Alveira said Cortina plans to use the stadium, which was built in 1956, as a venue for competitions in 2026. Cortina will learn from the experience of Beijing and other host cities of the Winter Olympics, and do a good job in the sustainable use of Winter Olympic venues and other preparations and organization.
Christilin, who served as vice chairman of the Turin Olympic Organizing Committee, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that in the past period of time, she paid close attention to the Beijing Winter Olympics and got up early every day to learn about the News of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Cristilin said Italian Olympic Committee officials believe that the epidemic has made safety and travel extremely complicated, and that except for Chinese, probably no one can successfully host the Winter Olympics under such conditions. She said the work of her Chinese colleagues was to be congratulated, which saved the careers of many athletes because many of them could not wait another four years. Christielin congratulated China on its excellent organization of the Winter Olympics, "they have done a miracle."
At the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Italian team won 17 medals, the second best result in the history of Italy's participation in the Winter Olympics. Italian steel-framed snowmobile Mattia Gaspari, who is participating in the Winter Olympics for the first time, was born in Cortina, and the Beijing Winter Olympics was his Winter Olympic debut. Gaspari told Xinhua News Agency that from the gathering of the Olympic family, to the excellent event organization, to advanced technical facilities and environmental protection concepts, the Beijing Winter Olympics have left a deep impression on him. After harvesting many good memories in Beijing, Gaspari looks forward to his hometown to successfully "take over" Beijing and successfully host the next Winter Olympics.
Meet italy in 2026
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will take place from 6 to 22 February 2026, and the Paralympic Winter Games will take place from 6 to 15 March 2026. Among them, the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games is planned to be held at the San Siro Stadium, the iconic stadium in Milan, and the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games and the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games will be held in Verona.
The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in many regions of northern Italy, Milan and Cortina will be the main hosts, and other competition venues include Val di Fermi, Vatrina, Anteservia, etc., with a total area of 22,000 square kilometers and 18 competition venues (venues). Organizers of the 2026 Winter Olympics said the new Winter Olympics will make full use of and appropriately transform existing venues to reduce environmental impacts and save money.
Public participation is also encouraged at the next Winter Olympics, with the IOC logo, mascot and anthem already or planned to be decided by the public. Kady, the project manager of the Winter Olympics, told Xinhua that a meeting will be held this summer to finalize the details of the 2026 Winter Olympics. (End)