“The Olympic Games is an event that involves all the players on the field, athletes, coaches, organizers, volunteers, institutions, territories, entrepreneurs, an event that affects all of Italy.” The Olympic Games are part of our memory and have shaped our identity. We are a nation that will host the Olympic Games for the fourth time in Milano Cortina 2026. There are only a few nations that can show such a record. The medals, which commemorate the previous editions hosted by Italy, are kept in the Council of Ministers room and show how the Olympic Games are part of our identity and our collective memory.”
«Events that shape our history and our identity»
This is what Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a passage from her speech at the presentation of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to the Presidents and qualified Italian companies at Villa Doria Pamphili. “Each of the previous editions of the Olympic Games has shaped our history and our identity, and Milan-Cortina has its own path to pave along the way.” Because it will be another edition of the Games full of particularities. It will be the Olympic Games of the territory’s specificity, with a territorial extension of 22,000 km², that will remind us that Italy is the nation of 1000 bell towers and 1000 small big identities. And identity has value in a time when everything tends towards homogenization. It will be the Women’s Olympics, with the largest female participation ever. At the Olympic Games, special attention is paid to the young generations, to the theme of sport and lifestyle. It will be an Olympics of sustainability where 93% of the facilities are already in place or temporary.”
“Let’s not be overwhelmed by Calimero Syndrome”
“But the Olympics are above all a challenge. “Why yes,” notes the Prime Minister, “the Olympics are a great opportunity to once again show the world who we are” and to remind ourselves, “because this is a nation where many tend to think of one Kind of Calimero Syndrome, which we’re never enough for, we don’t know how to do, we can’t do it. You, on the other hand, know that we can do it because there is another part of the nation that, despite the difficulties, is proving its worth every day.”
The numbers of a great event
“I don’t have to remember it,” Meloni continues, “not even what it means economically to host the Olympic Games.” As confirmed by renowned universities, the impact on production is estimated at 8 billion, four and a half billion of the gross domestic product and 60,000 new jobs including induced activities. A great opportunity for our system and a great opportunity to show the world who we are. But I believe the greatest opportunity is to show ourselves who we are, because this is a nation that tends to forget its potential.”
