Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics: Venue Preparations Advance Amidst Early Competition Power Outage
Organizers for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are continuing venue preparations, with some sites requiring final completion efforts. This comes as an early power outage temporarily affected mixed doubles curling competition, serving as the first reported incident during live play. The Games are notable for their geographically spread-out venues across Italy and the anticipated return of NHL players.
Venue Preparations and Readiness
Preparations for the Milan Cortina Olympics are advancing, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), although some venues necessitate last-minute completion efforts. A crucial cable car in Cortina, intended for spectator transport to women's alpine skiing events, will not be operational by the Games' scheduled start on February 6.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry stated that the team and stakeholders were working diligently, indicating that preparations were "exactly where we need to be."
The 2026 Olympics will utilize a geographically dispersed layout, featuring mountain clusters in Cortina, Bormio, Livigno, and Val di Fiemme, in addition to venues in Milan.
Transportation within the mountainous regions has been identified as a significant logistical challenge for organizers. Coventry noted that the organizing committee has aimed to provide the "best possible opportunities available to all stakeholders" given the spread-out nature of the Games.
In Milan, the Santagiulia ice hockey stadium, designed with a capacity of 15,300, experienced construction delays and underwent testing in January. IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi confirmed that public-facing and athlete-related areas would be "absolutely top," while acknowledging that "still work ongoing" was required to finalize the venue.
The Games will also mark the return of National Hockey League (NHL) players to the Olympics, an occurrence not seen since 2014.
Early Competition Incident: Curling Power Outage
During the initial mixed doubles curling matchups of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, a power outage occurred inside the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The incident took place on Wednesday during early games.
The lights in the stadium briefly dimmed, and scoreboards and time clocks ceased functioning across all four sheets of play, leading to a delay. Some players, such as Estonia's Harri Lill, proceeded with their throws, while others, including Sweden's Rasmus Wranå, paused. The lighting was restored to full strength after approximately three minutes. Play resumed following a delay of just over five minutes.
The organizing committee released a statement indicating a "brief interruption to competition at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium due to an energy-related issue." The statement confirmed the interruption lasted about three minutes and that power was restored, with competition resuming as planned. The specific cause of the issue was not clarified.
The Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium, also known as the Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio, was originally constructed as an outdoor venue for the 1956 Olympics and was subsequently covered with a roof and upgraded for the 2026 Games.
This power outage marked the first reported issue affecting live play during the current Games. Other venues, including the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan and the Cortina Sliding Centre, have previously experienced construction delays or other issues.
Mixed Doubles Curling Updates
In Wednesday's mixed doubles matches, Sweden, Switzerland, Great Britain, and Canada secured victories in their opening contests. The United States and defending Olympic champion Italy are scheduled to debut on Thursday morning. Mixed doubles curling competition is set to continue through Tuesday.