Winter Olympics 2026 candidates Stockholm, Milan have 'fully embraced' cost-cutting reforms, says IOC

Lausanne: The two candidates to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, Stockholm/Are and Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo, have “fully embraced” the cost-cutting Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms, according to the IOC. [caption id=“attachment_5573291” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] The IOC published the report by its evaluation commission Friday, one month ahead of the 24 June vote in Lausanne on which city will host the 2026 Games. Ex-Romanian rugby player Octavian Morariu, the commission head, said: “Both projects prioritise legacy and sustainability by capitalising on winter sports tradition and experience, with first-rate, established World Cup venues, knowledgeable and passionate fans, volunteers and event organisers. They have fully embedded the Olympic Agenda 2020 philosophy, and have athletes at the centre of their plans.” He added: “The two candidates have aligned their concepts with their context and local long-term goals. All of this led to massive cost savings and a more sustainable hosting model that is the new reality for the Games.” According to the IOC, the two candidate cities 2026 plan to use on average more than 80 percent existing or temporary venues, compared to 60 percent for the 2018 and 2022 candidates. “As a consequence, their proposed Games operating budgets are on average 20 percent lower than those of the candidate cities for the Olympic Winter Games 2018 and 2022,” the IOC said in reference to Pyeongchang and Beijing respectively. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi went down as the most expensive in history, costing an estimated 50 billion dollars (45m euros). To avoid such crippling costs, the IOC moved to encourage candidate cities to use existing infrastructure and even sanctioned neighbouring countries to help out. Sweden, which does not have a bobsleigh track, has teamed up with Latvia, where the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton will be held in Sigulda, should Stockholm win next month’s vote.