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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPresident of the Milan Cortina 2026 foundation Giovanni Malago speaks during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Natacha Pisarenko)<\/p>\n
The idea of the Milan Cortina Games was born out of the rejection of Rome\u2019s bid for the 2024 Olympics by then-Mayor Virginia Raggi a decade ago. That came four years after then-Premier Mario Monti scrapped the city\u2019s candidacy for the 2020 Games because of financial concerns; and after a Rome bid was narrowly defeated by Athens in the final round of voting for 2004.<\/p>\n
\u201cScars help you remember\u201d the defeats, said Giovanni Malag\u00f2, the head of the Milan Cortina organizing committee and former CONI president.<\/p>\n
But Malag\u00f2, who is also an IOC member, suggested that Rome has a couple of key advantages in Olympic circles: its \u201cunique\u201d history of failed bids and the centrepiece venue for any Summer candidacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cRome has a 70,000-seat stadium with an athletics track \u2014 which is huge in terms of sustainability,\u201d Malag\u00f2 said.<\/p>\n
The existing Stadio Olimpico and surrounding Foro Italico complex would be a natural setting for athletics and swimming \u2014 the two biggest sports at the Summer Games.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said during the Milan Cortina Games that he believes his city has \u201cthe conditions\u201d for another bid \u2014 especially after welcoming more than 33 million people to the capital and Vatican for the 2025 Holy Year.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it\u2019s considered a realistic goal, I\u2019m open to collaborating with the IOC, government and CONI in order to create the most competitive bid possible,\u201d Gualtieri said. \u201cA capital like Rome should not be afraid of big challenges. The Jubilee showed off our organizational capacity for big events.\u201d<\/p>\n With the 2028 Games coming up in Los Angeles and 2032 in Brisbane, Australia; and India and Qatar bidding for 2036; the 2040 Summer Games seem destined to return to Europe.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cNow is not the time to discuss this. It\u2019s premature, wrong and even counterproductive,\u201d Malag\u00f2 said. \u201cWe need to understand the geopolitical landscape for post-2032.\u201d<\/p>\n Malag\u00f2 wouldn\u2019t elaborate on speculation that he will run for Rome mayor after he finishes off his Milan Cortina duties, saying he would discuss \u201cideas that I have in mind\u201d after next month\u2019s Paralympics.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Andrea Abodi, Italy\u2019s Minister for Sport and Youth, added: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t necessarily require an announcement to build a winning bid.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP Olympics: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tItalian President Sergio Mattarella, right, Andrea Abodi, Italian Minister for Sport and Youth, centre, and Luciano Buonfiglio, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), listen to the national anthem during the podium ceremony for an alpine ski, women’s super-G race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo\/Marco Trovati)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPresident of the Milan Cortina 2026 foundation Giovanni Malago and IOC President Kirsty Coventry, right, embrace during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Verona, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo\/Natacha Pisarenko)<\/p>\n