Austria's ski hero Toni Sailer in Cortina in 1956. © Ski Tracks Collection

Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956: Winter Olympics under the sign of television

Winter tourism in Italy experienced a significant boom after the First World War. The popularization of skiing, promoted by the military, contributed to this, as did the incorporation of South Tyrol, which offered favorable conditions for winter sports.

February 05, 2026

From: c.thöny

Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomites developed into an important center, hosting alpine ski world championships in 1932 and 1941 (the latter, however, was cancelled by the FIS due to the Second World War, as not all nations participated).

Count Alberto Bonacossa, an Italian IOC member and accomplished mountaineer and skier, recognized the potential of the Winter Olympics for tourism development. As a confidant of Mussolini, he endeavored to bring the Games to Italy. Cortina was indeed chosen for 1944, but the Games were postponed due to the war. After the war, the Count renewed his efforts, which finally paid off in 1949: at the Delegates' Assembly, the Winter Olympic Committee voted against Montreal in favor of the Dolomite resort. However, Bonacossa did not live to see his dream fulfilled, as he died in 1953.

Setting new standards

Compared to the Winter Games now beginning, the scale of the 1956 Games naturally seems modest. Only about a tenth of today's number of athletes competed back then. Nevertheless, new standards were set in many respects. This also applies to the symbolic level, for example, through the fact that ski racer Giuliana Genal Minuzzo became the first woman to recite the Olympic oath at the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony of the 1956 Olympics.

For decades, Cortina d'Ampezzo benefited from the reputation established by the 1956 Winter Olympics. This was primarily due to the fact that it was the first event of its kind to be broadcast live on television. In Austria, eyewitnesses still remember the collective television viewing that year, which today would be called "public viewing." In pubs and at neighborhood gatherings, Toni Sailer's three gold medals were especially celebrated, demonstrably making a significant contribution to the self-confidence of the people in the still-young Second Republic. The recorded television images were flown to America, as satellites did not yet exist. The coverage there differed considerably from that in the Eastern Bloc countries, as the Winter Games were heavily influenced by the Cold War's bloc politics.