The one-year countdown to the Milan Cortina Olympic Games is on. International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach has proudly declared “Italy is ready.”

Olympic curling champion Eve Muirhead believes Milan-Cortina 2026 will be a mix of the Winter Games’ past and future as it combines alpine resort settings with a wide geographic spread of existing venues to keep costs down.

Milan Cortina Winter Games, which open one year from today, feature the Olympic debuts of one sport and five new events within existing sports. The Opening Ceremony is next Feb. 6 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan.

The century-old sliding center being completely rebuilt for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games is pushing the deadline really tight.

All you need to know about the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, including where exactly it is taking place, when it starts, the new events, and the stars taking part.

By Elvira Pollina MILAN (Reuters) -Italy began the one-year countdown to the Winter Olympics on Thursday with a series of events designed to fuel enthusiasm for the Games that will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Sochi’s media village was still under construction, and showers ran yellow when journalists arrived for the 2014 Winter Games. The 2016 Rio

Swiss Alpine Skier Lara Gut-Behrami revealed she never thought she would make it to the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics after an injury-laden period.

Italy marked the one-year countdown to the Winter Olympics on Thursday with a series of events designed to fuel enthusiasm for the Games that will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said on Thursday that Italy is ready to write the next chapter of its Olympic history at an event organized at Milan's Piccolo Theatre one year before the 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to kick off.