Milan-Cortina organisers rush to ready venues as flame arrives

The Olympic flame arrives in Rome on Thursday as the Milan-Cortina Winter Games home into view, but organisers are rushing to make sure everything is ready for a sprawling sports showcase spread across a vast area of northern Italy.

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Just two months remain until the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, which run over February 6-28, and there are concerns over a number of sites, most notably the Santa Giulia Arena near Milan which is scheduled to host the ice hockey tournament but is still a building site.

And while the flame takes a 60-day triparound Italy on its way to Milan, where the main opening ceremony will be held, another Olympic tradition is being respected in the form of a late dash to complete works at a clutch of venues.

Milan-Cortina’sorganising committee declined to comment on some alarming reports, but Christophe Dubi, the International Olympic Committee's Executive Director of the Games, admitted that “pressure” was felt.