Winter Olympics 2026: IOC President Kirsty Coventry must do ‘better’ on climate change

Christophe Dube, Executive Director of Olympic Games at the IOC, added: “We are keen to receive these petitions, and we must recognize that the climate is a challenge for all of us.

“What we need to do as an organization is to be at the forefront of sustainability, and our principles are very clear.”

One area the IOC is aiming to make the Olympics more sustainable is to hold the Games over a wider area with more pre-existing facilities, and Coventry said Milan-Cortina is an acid test to see if this is a viable future.

The Milan-Cortina Championship is held in three hubs spread across northern Italy – in Milan, Cortina and Livigno – with only two newly built sports facilities: the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and the Cortina Sliding Centre.

The Winter Olympics will also be more widely spread over the next two Winter Olympics – French Alps 2030 and Utah 2034 – while the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane will include venues across Queensland.

But this has caused problems, Brisbane organizers said, external It will exceed the originally announced budget of $4.9 billion (£3.6 billion).

“We’re actually seeing viral games here for the first time, and we’re going to learn a lot,” Coventry said.

“We made this decision for reasons of sustainability, climate and not having to build new venues. We see that there is an impact on the National Olympic Committees due to the spread of the virus.” [sic]also for broadcasting and media, making navigation more difficult.

“What’s really great is that you’ll be able to see iconic places in beautiful places – but now we have to weigh that, and balance games that are spread out for sustainability reasons but not moving complexity and sustainability to different areas.”

While the event began on Wednesday with the start of curling, the 2026 Winter Olympics will officially begin with the opening ceremony on Friday.

Coventry said it hoped all countries would be treated with respect by spectators, including Team USA, amid criticism from Italian authorities over the presence of ICE agents in Milan.

“I hope everyone will see the opening ceremony as an opportunity to be respectful,” she said.

“For me, when we went to the Olympic Village, it was the best reminder of how the Games were held. I hope the opening ceremony achieves that.”