Open Olympics’ third report on the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
A few weeks before the opening of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, the civic network Open Olympics 2026 – coordinated by Libera and twenty partner NGOs, including Mountain Wilderness Italy – has released its third monitoring report (available only in Italian).
The document examines what is currently accessible through official channels, particularly the Open Milano Cortina 2026 portal, created following pressure from the NGO network. But its central focus is what remains opaque: the gaps, omissions, and inconsistencies that the authors call the “non-data”. These blind spots, they argue, cut across the entire Olympic and Paralympic governance system.
€3.5 billion in projects, but most spending is for post‑Games works
According to the portal, 98 projects are currently planned, with a combined value of €3.5 billion. Of these:
- 31 projects are classified as essential for hosting the Games
- 67 projects fall under the “legacy” category
Only 13% of total expenditure is dedicated to essential works, while 87% funds legacy interventions. In practical terms, for every euro spent on essential infrastructure, €6.6 go to legacy projects.
The timeline raises further concerns. Fifty‑seven percent of the works will be completed after the Games, with the final construction site scheduled to close in 2033. Besides, over the course of 2025, 73% of the projects saw their completion dates postponed – some by more than three years.
What the portal does not reveal: environmental impact, financial sources, subcontract values
Beyond the available data, the report highlights three major areas where information remains incomplete or entirely absent:
- Environmental impact – The CO₂ footprint of each individual project is missing, making it impossible to assess the real environmental cost of the Games.
- Economic transparency -The portal does not specify who is covering cost increases, as financial sources are not disclosed.
- Subcontracting – While subcontractors’ names are listed, the economic value of each subcontract is not.
The portal, the authors stress, represents only a fraction of the overall picture. Much of the “non-data” concerns the numerous actors involved in the Olympic system, whose responsibilities and budgets remain dispersed across institutions and documents that are difficult to access.
Three key questions still unanswered
The report identifies three civic questions that remain unresolved due to the lack of reliable, complete, and up‑to‑date information:
- How many projects are there, and what is their real cost? The fragmentation of sources makes it impossible to determine a definitive list.
- How much will it truly cost to stage the Games and ensure safety? The Milano Cortina Foundation’s “Lifetime Budget”, declared in 2025 at €1.7 billion, is not publicly available.
- What is the role – and transparency – of the Paralympic Commissioner? The Commissioner has been allocated €328 million. The original estimate for Paralympic costs was €71.5 million, meaning a 359% increase. The first quarterly report, expected in early December, has not been published so far.
Civil society vows to continue monitoring beyond 2026
Open Olympics 2026 emphasises that its work will not end with the closing ceremony. With 57% of the works scheduled for completion after the Games, long‑term oversight will be essential. The network has also begun collaborating with French civil society organisations in anticipation of the 2030 Winter Olympics, aiming to share tools, methodologies, and lessons learned.
Title picture: courtesy of Marco Scala, used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.