The 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be held between February 6 and February 22. Two cities in Italy will host the event. They are Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, also known as Cortina. Let’s learn more about these two Olympic hosts.
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Both Olympic host cities are in the European nation of Italy.
While Milan and Cortina are both in Italy, they are 250 miles apart. Milan will host ice sports such as hockey and figure skating. Cortina will host alpine [winter mountain] events such as skiing. Other events will be held in mountain clusters around Italy. This will be the most spread-out Winter Olympics in history.
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Milan is a world-renowned city known for shopping, design, and wonders of architecture including the Milano Duomo Cathedral seen here.
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy. It has a population of around 3.5 million people. Several of the world’s most well-known fashion design brands call Milan home. Milan also hosts the Italian stock exchange. It is considered one of Europe’s financial capitals. Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper in Milan. He also designed a system of canals in the city. Milan has a proud sports history. It is home to two of the world’s most successful soccer teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan. However, this will be the first time Milan has hosted the Olympics.
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Cortina is a smaller town in the northeast of Italy, close to the Austrian border. It is in the Alps, Europe’s largest mountain range. Cortina attracts many tourists because of its ski resorts and scenic mountain location. Its population can vary between 5,000 people in the off season to 50,000 during the peak of tourist season in winter. While much smaller than Milan, Cortina hosted the Winter Olympics once before in 1956. It already has facilities built for ski events as well as downhill events such as the bobsled and luge.
What Do You Think? Do you think it is a good idea to have two host cities for the Winter Olympics? Why or why not?
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