Italy's government rejects Olympic bid

Sports Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti stated on Tuesday that the prerequisites for a candidacy do not exist.

“An important matter such as an Olympic candidacy must be pursued in a spirit of togetherness, which does not exist among the three cities. Therefore, the government believes that the application as formulated so far has no future. This proposal does not have the support of the government and is dead,” said Giorgetti, a top politician in the right-wing ruling Lega party.

On August 1st, Italy's Olympic Committee CONI announced the joint application. It was said that no city would be the top candidate for the “innovative project”. This was probably not well received by everyone involved. Most recently, the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, urged that the Lombard metropolis should take the lead. Turin had resisted this vigorously. Giorgetti complained that the three cities had shown little willingness to cooperate. “Mistrust prevails,” criticized the sports minister, who spoke of a personal defeat. “I worked for a common solution from the start. The committees of the three cities have been looking for a solution that would satisfy everyone, but they have not found it,” said Giorgetti.

However, Italy still has hopes of a candidacy. The Lombardy regions with Milan and Veneto, which also includes Cortina, are considering an alternative candidacy. With the exclusion of Turin they hope for better chances, said the presidents of Lombardy and Veneto, Attilio Fontana and Luca Zaia, on Tuesday. Both presidents belong to the right-wing Lega.

The host of the Winter Games in eight years will be chosen by the IOC in September 2019. If Italy does not put forward a candidacy, the pool of applicants would shrink further after Japan's candidate Sapporo withdrew. The 1972 host wants to focus on a 2030 bid after the devastating earthquake on the island of Hokkaido.

Most recently, Austria with the cities of Graz and Schladming and Switzerland with Sion also withdrew. This would leave only Calgary (Canada), Stockholm (Sweden) and Erzurum (Turkey) in the running.

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Italy's government rejects Olympic bid

Italy's bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics is threatened with a quick knockout: The government in Rome has withdrawn support for the Olympic project in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Turin and Milan.

Suggestions

Comments (0)