Cortina bobsleigh track in race against time for Winter Olympics

In just under a year Italy will host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Joint hosts Milan and Cortina bring the event back to Europe for the first time in 20 years.

Preparations and construction of venues are under way, with a new bobsleigh track in Cortina the center of attention and controversy. 

Originally Games organizers proposed to renovate a 100-year-old track, previously used in the 1956 Games, but those plans fell through after no construction bids were received.

The International Olympic Committee then proposed moving sliding events; which include bobsleigh, skeleton and luge, to neighboring countries during the Games.

Italy's national and regional governments intervened, keen to keep all of the Olympics inside their borders. Construction began just two years before the opening ceremony.

Time is of the essence, workers are operating day and night seven days a week to meet a March deadline for test events.

"It's a difficult project. However, we are tackling it with the right spirit and competency in respect of time, costs and quality," said Fabio Saldini, Director General of SIMICO who are responsible for infrastructure projects for the Milano-Cortina games.

The new center has become a headache for Games organizers. If the track isn't completed in record time, plan B would involve moving events to Lake Placid in the U.S. over 6,000 kilometers away.

Commissioner Saldini insisted to CGTN that the project was on schedule.

"At the end of February, we will start with icing the track," he said. "That continues until the end of March, when there will be the test events. I must say we are working towards plan A, other people can worry about any emergency."

Estimated costs for the project are around $123 million.

It has faced opposition from local activists who say the sports have limited appeal, new construction creates environmental concerns and the track could become a white elephant.

The circuit used in Italy's previous Winter Olympics in Turin in 2006 has been abandoned and is awaiting demolition.

Local officials say the new sliding center will be important for Cortina's legacy.

"Cortina has an old history and tradition in this kind of sport and for sure the new facility will put Cortina again at the center of the map," Director General of the Cortina Foundation, Michele Di Gallo told CGTN.

The Games will be the first time the Winter Olympics has been hosted by multiple cities.

Milan and Cortina are over 400km from each other. Events will be also be hosted at six other venues between the two host cities across the Italian Alps and Dolomites.

The Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics will begin on February 6, 2026 with an opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro Stadium.