L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019 L'Italo-Americano CHIARA D'ALESSIO T he announcement was given just over a week ago, on the 24th of June, in Lausanne. Milan-Cortina will host the Winter Olympic Games in 2026, after defeating the Swedish candidature. President of CIO Thomas Bach revealed the Italians received 47 votes against the 34 granted to Sweden and 80% of popular approval, against 55% gathered by Sweden. Many more are, however, the reasons behind Milan and Corti- na winning. For instance, 93% on the necessary infrastructures to host the games exists already, which means funding will be largely used to ameliorate struc- tures which are already used by the community, or bring new life into others that lie neglected: it's not only a matter of saving cash, but also to make sure that whatev- er is done for the Olympics will benefit the areas involved and their inhabitants in the long run. It is a truly amazing achieve- ment for the country, which will host the Winter Olympics for the third time in a century, twenty years after Turin 2006 and, curi- ously enough, 70 years after Cortina hosted them for the first time in 1956. It was a great moment of joy for the Italian delegation in Lau- sanne, led by the President of CONI — the Italian Olympic Committee — Giovanni Malagò. The Swedish delegation congratu- lated the Italians, humorously stating that "we defeated you in the World Cup (the Italian squad was eliminated by Sweden during the qualifiers for Russia 2018), you did it here: we're even now!" The Italian world of politics also intervened, with Prime Min- ister Giuseppe Conte tweeting that all Italians "are proud of this amazing result! Italy won: a whole country worked with the aim of putting together and giving to the world a memorable sports event." Indeed, Conte stressed how the achievement is one that belongs to the country as a whole: "it's everyone's victory: of CONI, of the regions of Lombardia and Veneto, of the cities and towns involved, of all local councils, sport federations and athletes." And, indeed, it's probably the words of Italy's athletes that offer the best insight on how important hosting the Winter Olympics is for Italy. Snowboard olympic champion Michela Moioli shows all the emotions of someone who, finally, sees the most important event she can participate to hosted in her own country: "It's an immense joy. I felt like crying while I was waiting for the results. Mark those dates, because I'll be there!" Similar was the reaction of Sofia Goggia, olympic gold in downhill Alpine skiing, "It's a dream within a dream. It's a huge reason to celebrate for our country." Milan and Cortina are not the only locations where the Olympics will take place: Bormio and Livigno, known by all skiers and lovers of Winter sports in general, will also host several events. But hosting the Olympics is not only a matter of organizing sports events, but also — and to many, most importantly — of making sure all infrastructures are top notch and all areas involved are ready to welcome the world. As said, the large majority of what's needed already exists: Cortina, Bormio and Livigno are known for their presence on the Skiing World Cup calendar each year, which means slopes and all related infrastructures are not only present, but of the highest quality. At the same time, the Olympics will offer the opportunity to improve them, a factor which will benefit the community also after the end of the games. It has been pointed out that the Olympics could offer the opportu- nity to greatly ameliorate commu- nication ways in Valtellina, the valley were Bormio and Livigno are. Lino Stoppani, president of FIPE (Federazione Italiana Pub- blici Esercizi: Italian Federation of Public Establishments) explains it well to Affari Italiani: "this event should be the occasion to improve the state of infrastruc- tures. I think especially about Valtellina (…). Access roads to the area need to be improved, especially to Sondrio and the higher part of the valley: there are already ideas and proposals. Solv- ing the accessibility problems the valley has been experiencing could help the development of the area and benefit tourism greatly." Hosting the games, then, could be the starting point for the true renaissance of a beautiful, but a little secluded area of Northern Italy. We are talking about breath- taking Alpine valleys, which have been sadly experiencing that pat- tern of depopulation typical of many rural and mountain areas in the country. Infrastructure improvements could increase the weight of tourism and, as a conse- quence, support higher levels of local employment: youth would no longer need to leave, if they wished so. So, the vast majority of the infrastructures may be there already, but there is a lot of work to do, and 7 years to do it: this will translate in a plethora of employment opportunities throughout the years leading to the event, as well as during the event itself, in a variety of sectors. From engineering to architecture; from hospitality to commerce all the way to manual labor and spe- cialized workers. The Olympics are bound to offer stable employ- ment to many. Deputy prime min- ister Matteo Salvini stated that "there'll be at least 5 billion euro of added value and over 20.000 jobs on offer through the years leading to the 2026 Olympics." For a country that has one of the highest levels of unemployment in Europe, that's really good news. Bringing the Winter Olympics to Italy means a lot: it means improving infrastructures, it means creating new jobs opportu- nities and potentially offer a bet- ter future to many people and it also means giving to the country a great stage to showcase its beau- ty, its excellences and its ability to organize and lead events. And for our athletes, of course, it means playing at home, where every vic- tory — and there will be! —- is worth much more than anywhere else in the world. For a country home to the highest mountains in Europe, hosting the Winter Olympics is also a nod to that innate, atavistic tie the people of Italy, especially in the Northern regions, have with the mountains: mountains that protected us throughout history from invasions and evil, moun- tains that watch over the country like an immortal, benevolent mother, always there, always ready to feed, watch over and for- give her children. We love our Alps, in Italy. May the 2026 Win- ter Olympics be first and fore- most a way to show the world how beautiful, majestic and pre- cious they are. Milan and Cortina will host the 2026 Winter Olympics Cortina, a beautiful Alpine village that will be home to Olympics in 2026 Winter Olympics 2026: it's Milan and Cortina! NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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