Six months before the start of the Winter Olympics, Italian organizers say, after years of landing, they are on schedule.

“Preparations are progressing steadily and according to the time limit we have set,“Andrea Varnier, Chief Executive of Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Committee of Organization, AFP told.

The Olympic opening ceremony is on February 6, though the curly begins the action two days ago. The parallePiad opens a month later, on March 6, though the curls again break the ice two days ago.

“We are now in the essential phase of operational implementation“Said Varnier.

Simico, the public company responsible for providing Olympic facilities last week promised that ”All planned sporting projects will be completed before the start of the Olympic Games“

Organizers have made a point to offer a low -cost low -cost winter game after the latest extravagans.

Sochi, in Russia in 2014, costs at least $ 40 billion (34.5 billion euros with current exchange rates). Pyeongchang, in South Korea in 2018, entered over $ 12 billion. Games hit by Covid in Beijing in 2022 officially cost $ 4 billion, but financial analysts said the inclusion of infrastructure costs set the total at about $ 38 billion.

Milano-Cortina estimate that their last bill will be 5.2 BN euro ($ 6 bn). From that 3.5 billion euros is going to infrastructure and 1.7 bn euros in the organization of games.

Games are using a host of existing places-highlighting the point holding the closing ceremony at the Roman amphitheater almost 2,000 years old in Verona. Organizers say the avoidance of new construction reduces not only costs but environmental impact.

‘Complex global events’

This approach also means that the games will extend throughout northern Italy from Cortina to the Dolomites in the east of 350 kilometers on the western suburb of Milan, with other “clusters” spread across the Alps.

“As with any complex global event, challenges are part of the process“Said Varnier.”We are moving forward with confidence.“

One of the new places will be briefly to be the Milan Santa Giulia ice hockey arena before taking its target role as the multi -goal event arena.

While the organizers have managed to avoid being tired of a small route of rapid use by temporarily converting two exhibition halls to Milan, another group of few participants created a political and construction headache.

Because Italy did not have a path for the events of Bobsleigh, spoon and skeleton, the organizers considered the use of existing places in Austria or Switzerland.

Matteo Salvini, the second command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni’s hard -right government, insisted at the end of 2023 for events to be held in Italy.

This meant a strange race to build a track in Cortina. It was completed only in time for pre-approval in March.

Accommodation, which often presents a logistical and financial problem for Olympic organizers, seems to be closed.

The village of Milan, six seven -storey buildings that will turn into university dormitories after games, will surrender in “early October”, despite the latest legal problems of its developer, Coima Group.

In Cortina, 377 prefabricated modules will be installed by the end of October.

‘We will be ready’

While it is not clear if Italy’s ski star Federica Brignone, who won the World Cup and a World title last season but destroyed its left foot, will be suitable for competing, organizers in July discovered the medal model she would follow.

They will weigh 420 grams in bronze and 500 grams in gold and silver.

The designer promised that the medals would endure better than some of the last year’s Paris games. About 220 medals, which contain a small piece of scrap from the Eiffel Tower, had to be replaced because they quickly turned black or rusty.

“We cannot allow what happened in Paris to happen again“said their designer Raffaella Panie.

This leaves only an unknown. The Italian meteorological service, contacted by AFP, said it was unable to predict if there would be enough snow next February.

The organizers said they were not worried.

“We will be ready“They said.