As doubts surround the future existence of the Winter Olympics, the success of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games is "fundamental", Christophe Dubi, executive director of the Games at the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told reporters.

Just like the 2024 Paris Summer Games, Milano-Cortina is also staging many events in existing venues, spread across northern Italy and the Dolomites.

"The signal we're giving is that we're using what already exists, that it's right to go where we know how to do it and where we're equipped," said Dubi, who oversees the management and coordination of the Olympic Games.

The Winter Games have struggled to find hosts. The 2030 edition will be held across the Alps in France. After returning to 2002 host Salt Lake City for the 2034 Games, another Alpine country, Switzerland, is the only candidate for 2038.

Yet Dubi bridled at continuing criticism of huge construction projects associated with the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018, and Beijing in 2022.

"That angle of attack bothers me, because we in the Alps have this claim to be above suspicion," said Dubi, who is Swiss.

"We have valleys equipped with motorways, trains, cable cars, car parks and tunnels, and when others claim to be developing mountain tourism, we say to them: 'But what right do you have?'"

"Having said that, the success of the Milan Games is fundamental for us, because it determines an operational framework that we will replicate — in a slightly different form — for the 2030 French Alps edition, and then for a similar project, Switzerland 2038."

In 2023, the IOC estimated that only 10 countries would still be able to host the Winter Olympics by 2040. Yet, Dubi argues, other sports are being hit by a changing climate and cited tennis star Novak Djokovic's struggles to play in the heat in China earlier this month.

"Djokovic vomiting at the Shanghai Masters — what does that tell you about the current climate for sport? The impact of global warming is being felt across sport — especially outdoor sports, yes, but everywhere."

Dubi added that evolving technology could free traditional winter sports from snow and ice, while reducing the environmental impact.

"For the Winter Games, the issue is the temperature and snowmaking — for how long can we go on, at what altitude, in which regions?"

"There are also some ideas that fascinate me: should we continue to make ice for skating? A Swiss company has come up with a completely synthetic ice that has the same glide coefficient, and, therefore, the same feel.

"Now, the day we can slide down a bobsleigh track without having to cool it with 25 tons of glycol will be a game changer. The same goes for ice rinks: they are still ice production factories, huge refrigerators."

"This thinking applies to all sliding sports, potentially skiing too: in ski jumping, we land on mats, so we could easily do the same within the Summer Games infrastructure."

Milano-Cortina 2026 is spread across seven far-flung hubs.

Dubi said that presents different challenges.

"In terms of experience, especially for the athletes, there must be this feeling of belonging, of being part of a unique event that transcends one's own discipline."

While the opening ceremony will be held in the San Siro stadium in Milan, there will be parades for competitors in Predazzo, Livigno and Cortina.

That, said Dubi, "allows all the athletes, perhaps for the first time, to come to the ceremony".

The 2030 Games will stretch across 500 kilometers from the La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand in the Haute-Savoie mountains, to Nice on the Mediterranean coast, and will present a similar challenge.

"How do you experience the event while being in La Clusaz, but with the feeling of being part of the French Alps Games?" Dubi posited.

"I imagine we'll make fairly rapid progress on these concepts, with immersive experiences, 3D and augmented reality, etcetera."

AFP