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IOC 'confident' Italy will be ready for 2026 Winter Games

AFP
AFP - news@thelocal.it
IOC 'confident' Italy will be ready for 2026 Winter Games
The Cortina d'Ampezzo railway station undergoes renovation work ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP
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One month out from the start of the Winter Olympic Games in Italy, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive director Christophe Dubi said he was confident everything would be prepared on time, despite serious concerns.

Delays have hampered the preparation of some of the Milan-Cortina Olympic event sites, such as those used for ice hockey, snowboarding and freestyle skiing.

"We're at the stage where everything is coming together, with just a month to go to the opening ceremony," Dubi told AFP on Tuesday

"The preparation is moving from the planning phase to the full operational implementation across all clusters.

READ ALSO: Italy Winter Olympics organisers resolve snow problem at ski site

"Recent test events – speed skating, ice hockey, and last weekend the biathlon at Val di Fiemme – confirmed the readiness and provided us with valuable final information.

"All these things strengthen our confidence," he added.

The Santagiulia Arena in Milan, which will host the final stages of the ice hockey tournament, was to open this week, a month behind schedule.

Next month's Games will mark the return of NHL stars to the Olympics after 12 years.

"The infrastructure for the ice hockey, I am talking about the dressing room, the practice area, the field of play, that's going to be ready," International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif said on Monday.

"We are going to have a fantastic tournament," he added.

READ ALSO: How the 'Olympic effect' is driving up property prices in Milan

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The snowboard and freestyle competitions will be held in Livigno, near the Swiss border, where artificial snow needs to be produced to build the jumps, obstacles and mogul runs that will feature on the course.

Although the operation was delayed by several days due to a technical issue, the 2026 Games CEO Andre Varnier assured AFP on Monday that snow production was progressing as forecast.

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