Sliding track for 2026 Olympics 'must be in Cortina', insists Salvini / Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO - AFP/File
-
South African election results renew debate over identity-based voting
-
Post-election pressures complicate US and Israeli decisions on Iran
-
South African voters report smoother local election but declining IEC trust
-
UN members approve talks on treaty protocol against environmental crime
-
Dolly Parton museum and Nashville hotel open after singer’s death
-
Family-run West Sussex beach café prepares for first winter season
-
George and Amal Clooney attend New York political-comedy reading
-
CT scans reveal health and burial clues from Egypt’s Braided Lady mummy
-
British buyers pay substantial premiums for period-home appearance
-
Oxford faces complaints over lecturer’s classroom attire
-
Thomas Markle released to house arrest after child-abuse-image charge
-
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins reach International Championship snooker final
-
Dawn of War 4 developers chose Adeptus Mechanicus for tactical variety
-
New Zealand and Tonga meet for place in Rugby League World Cup final
-
Italy face unbeaten South Africa in Turin Nations Championship match
-
Reports of unsafe AI-toy responses renew calls for child-safety rules
-
ChatGPT interactive interface feature tested across six custom tools
-
Juneau food network combines difficult supply routes with deep sharing traditions
-
Freshways milk-price cut deepens pressure on UK dairy farms
-
India climbs green-transition ranking after first emissions decline in 25 years
-
Labour and National remain virtually tied as New Zealand vote count advances
-
Trump names Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff after midterm losses
-
The Good Daughter adapts Karin Slaughter thriller with Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy
-
Restored Albanian tower houses anchor new rural tourism trail
-
Heavy-lift drone evacuates wounded Ukrainian soldier from frontline kill zone
-
Sonia Gandhi reflects on family tragedy and reluctant political career
-
Morrison says West Brom recovered after pressure from successive derby losses
-
Pope Leo begins three-country South American tour in Uruguay
-
Britain considers 2027 state visit for Ukraine’s Zelensky
-
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
-
China and Gabon Upgrade Ties to 'Shared Future' Amid Strategic Pact
Sliding track for 2026 Olympics 'must be in Cortina', insists Salvini
Italian deputy prime minister and transport minister Matteo Salvini insisted on Friday that the sliding events at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics should be held in Italy.
Organising chief Giovanni Malago told an International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai in October his organisation had been effectively ordered by the Italian government to move the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions due to spiralling costs.
Malago had said the events would likely be held outside Italy.
But Salvini has since said the ministry of transport would make a fresh proposal for a new track to be built at Cortina d'Ampezzo, which was the original plan.
"The Milan-Cortina Olympic Games must be an Italian Olympic Games," Salvini said on the sidelines of a trip to Milan.
"This is what we're working on at the ministry, without spending another euro or wasting any more time...
"These 2026 Winter Games are an incredible opportunity in terms of development and image not only for Lombardy and Veneto, but for all of Italy.
"The engineers told me that we still have enough time to build this track, we're working on it."
The organising committee has said the deadline for making a decision on the track's location has been agreed with the IOC for the end of January 2024.
The organisers also said earlier this month that they had contacted "the American, German, Austrian and Swiss Olympic committees" in case the unprecedented decision of relocating the events abroad was reached.
Renovating the now disused track, which was built for the 2006 Turin Games in Cesana, has been touted as a possible third option.
K.AbuDahab--SF-PST