Olympic Games 2026: Games are coming through the back door after all
Located in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6th to 22nd, 2026 the Winter Olympics take place. Games for which Innsbruck did not apply because the population was against it in a city-wide survey. The organizer in Italy lacks a bobsleigh and toboggan run and the country doesn’t give a damn about the will of the people in the sense of “cross-border cooperation”.
INNSBRUCK/TYROL. It has been almost six years since the Tyrolean population was asked whether the city of Innsbruck should apply for the Winter Games, which Nonne is organizing in Milan and Cotina d’Ampezzo. On October 15, 2017, 53.25% of those who took part in the vote in Tyrol spoke out against an application. In Innsbruck, even two-thirds of the votes were against an application, even though the proponents, including in large Innsbruck companies, with winter sports testimonials such as Benjamin Raich, banged the drum vigorously. The games in Innsbruck were always particularly important to the NEOS. And since the organizers in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo lack a bobsleigh and toboggan run, Innsbruck is supposed to step in to help. A motion by NEOS was passed today, among other things, with the votes of the ÖVP in the Tyrolean state parliament. This provides for the Tyrolean state government to meet with the Italian government and the Italian Olympic Committee to examine the possibility of opening the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge track in Igls for die 2026 Winter Olympics to use.
Politicians – not citizens’ will
The fact that the will of the politicians is apparently not that of the citizens was already evident in the 2017 survey. With a manipulative question, an attempt was made to influence the voting. “Should the state of Tyrol make a self-confident offer for the Innsbruck-Tyrol 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games that are sustainable, regionally adapted and economically and ecologically justifiable?” With this question, one wanted to rule out from the outset that any doubt of cost explosions was excluded. As a reminder: According to official figures, the Winter Games in Beijing this year cost four billion euros and critics speak of possibly ten times as much. ÖVP-LA Sebastian Kolland states that Cortina d’Ampezzo would first have to build a new bobsleigh track. The costs for this new building are estimated at at least 80 million euros. “Not only from an economic point of view, but also in terms of treating the environment and nature with care, I think it is worth questioning building a new track out of the ground there if there is a suitable facility for it in Igls, even if it is a manageable distance away. “The fact that the Winter Games in Turin only took place in 2006 and that the bobsleigh run, which was specially built at a cost of 120 million euros at the time, was demolished in 2012 because of the high maintenance costs and non-use is particularly absurd.
Igls also needs to be renovated
The use of the bobsleigh and toboggan run in Igls is particularly encouraged by the organizers of the Winter Games. But even in Innsbruck, competitions are not easy to carry out. As already reported, no more competitions will be possible from 2024 without extensive adaptations in the lower part of the bobsleigh and toboggan run. According to the latest calculations, the renovation costs would cost 27.4 million euros. As the VP sports spokesman states, “the application that has been approved is not a blank check, but only the order to hold appropriate discussions and clarify whether this option makes sense.”
Read more news from Innsbruck here.