Pressure is mounting on the Milano Cortina organizers

Pressure is mounting on Italian authorities to speed up preparations for the Milan Cortina Olympics amid funding shortfalls and unusually high temperatures, even as the head of world skiing openly backs a fundamental overhaul of how future Winter Games will be hosted.
With the Games set to begin in February, International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) president Johan Eliasch said Italy’s challenges are symptomatic of deeper structural issues facing winter sports, as rising costs, climate pressure and underutilized fuel infrastructure demand a rotating model of permanent Olympic hosts.
Growing concern about climate pressure, cost escalation and waste of Olympic infrastructure after the Games is fueling support within international sport for a rotational system, under which a small group of established venues would host the Winter Olympics on a recurring basis.
Proponents argue that such a model would allow for long-term planning, reduce costs and ensure consistent conditions for athletes and spectators, rather than forcing hosts to build or upgrade rarely used facilities after the Games are over.
Eliasch said several Olympic venues were experiencing technical difficulties not because of shortages from local organizers, but because of funding issues at the government level.
Race organizers have said the venues will be ready on time.
“We see here that there are some areas that have technical difficulties. It’s not the organizing committees. It’s just a lack of funding from the Italian government,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“It’s really important that every effort is made to make sure everything is ready on time.”
Eliasch warned that preparedness alone was not enough.
“We know we’re going to get everything ready somehow in time,” he said. “But the question is, of course, what? And what has to meet a certain threshold of quality and also the threshold of experience for the spectators, the fans, the athletes, first and foremost, to make this successful.”
He warned that funding constraints could push preparations past critical turning points.
SNOWMAKING CONCERNS
“We shouldn’t be wise and foolish,” Eliasch said. “And there are certain tipping points here in the process beyond which there is no going back.
“So in terms of quality, for what we’re trying to do here, it’s really important that funding doesn’t get in the way of delivering the best of the best for those two and a half weeks in February,” he added.