IOC President impressed with Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Village: Makes me want to become a winter athlete!

18 September 2025 – IOC President Kirsty Coventry praised progress in the preparations for Milano Cortina 2026 on Thursday, during the IOC Executive Board (EB)’s tour of key venues including the Olympic Village and the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe described the Olympic Village, which will have around 1,700 beds during the Games, as “stunning” and joked that it made her want to become a winter athlete.

“We’ve had a wonderful tour this morning, earlier at what will be the home of ice hockey at the Games, where it was wonderful to see the fast pace and progress of work,” said Coventry. “And here, at this Olympic Village, this beautiful venue is making me want to become a winter athlete!”

“This is what Italy is known for, blending history, culture and passion,” she added, referring to the Village being a key component of an urban regeneration project at the former Porta Romana railway yard.

After the Games, the Village will become a vibrant community hub. The athletes’ homes will be reused for student housing, while adjacent buildings will be used for affordable housing, all served by a neighbourhood square, with shops, bars, restaurants, cafés and outdoor space for community events.

This venue is going to be beautiful, and in a few months’ time will be welcoming athletes from all around the world. And you must be proud because it really is a stunning Village. We’re truly grateful to have been here and are now looking forward to walking back in, in a few months, seeing all the countries’ flags out of the windows.

Kirsty Coventry, IOC President

The IOC EB’s visit followed the IOC Coordination Commission’s final visit to Italy ahead of the Olympic Winter Games that will open on 6 February 2026. The IOC delegation was welcomed on the tour by Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee President and IOC Member Giovanni Malagò, CEO Andrea Varnier, and Italian Olympic stars Federica Pellegrini (also an IOC Member), Valentina Marchei and Marta Pagnini. Malagò hailed both projects as “impressive legacies” that will serve Milan, and Italy as a whole, well beyond the Games.

He said: “President Coventry said that she would like to be a winter sports athlete so that she could have the chance to stay in this Village. She was joined by Federica Pellegrini, Valentina Marchei and Marta Pagnini. They all said that, in their lives and through their experiences, they had never seen a village so beautiful, of such quality, and so well-finished. We are very pleased because, as you know, the legacy is that of a student housing complex with capped prices, which I believe objectively represents another significant inheritance for the city of Milan and beyond.”

There will be six Olympic Villages during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, in Milan, Cortina, Predazzo, Bormio, Livigno and Anterselva – with a mix of existing, temporary and newly built facilities. The Games are fully adapted to the hosts, maximising the use of existing venues and, as a consequence, reducing the overall carbon footprint. Hence, Milano Cortina 2026 will be hosted across two cities, Milano and Cortina, two regions, Lombardy and Veneto, and two Autonomous Provinces, Trento and Bolzano.

Ice hockey and Para ice hockey will be held at the Milano Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena. After the Games, this state-of-the-art multi-purpose venue will be transformed into a centre for sports and entertainment events in the city. Also spearheading the redevelopment of an area in Milan, this new facility represents yet another legacy of these Winter Games.

Malagò added: “We visited the Santa Giulia Arena, and I really hope, and believe, that everyone has seen the progress of the construction site, which is, in the most positive sense of the word, impressive. The city of Milan, but I would say Italy as a whole, will be equipped with a facility that has been sorely lacking and is essential for organising high-level events. This is objectively an impressive legacy that is being given to the whole country, and to the city for the Olympics.”

Milano Cortina 2026 will be the first Winter Games to be planned and delivered fully in line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, ensuring a focus on sustainability, legacy and efficient use of existing facilities.

Around 2,900 athletes are expected to participate from the territories of over 90 National Olympic Committees.