Get ready for the ultimate winter sports extravaganza! The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are here, and Italy is all geared up to host an extraordinary event. With over 2,900 athletes from 90+ countries, the next 16 days promise an action-packed journey across snow and ice.
But here's where it gets interesting: the Games are spread across a vast area in northern Italy, from Milan to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Predazzo, Tesero, Livigno, and Bormio. It's like a winter wonderland tour!
Let's dive into the details and uncover everything you need to know about this thrilling spectacle.
The Grand Opening
The official kick-off is on Friday, with the opening ceremony at Milan's iconic San Siro stadium. Get ready for a star-studded affair with multiple Grammy winner Mariah Carey and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli gracing the stage.
Due to the vast distances, not all athletes can be in Milan, but fear not! A second ceremony will take place in Cortina, and satellite ceremonies in Predazzo and Livigno, ensuring everyone gets to experience the magic.
Figure skater Lilah Fear and bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall will proudly carry the Great Britain flag, with Fear in Milan and Hall in Cortina.
Don't miss the BBC's coverage starting at 18:30 GMT on BBC Two and iPlayer.
Team GB's Medal Prospects
Could it be that Great Britain, with its limited snow days and unique Eddie the Eagle history, is transforming into a winter sports powerhouse? The next few weeks might just prove it!
Team GB's best Winter Games medal haul is five, but UK Sport predicts up to eight medals this time. So, who are the potential medal winners?
In skeleton, two-time world champion Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt are among the best men's athletes. Snowboarders Mia Brookes and Charlotte Bankes, and freestyle skiers Kirsty Muir and Zoe Atkin, could bring home the nation's first snow-based gold or silver.
On the ice, Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear, often compared to Torvill and Dean, are strong contenders for a figure skating medal, while Britain's curlers aim to add to their 2022 success.
What's New?
For the first time since 2002, a new sport has been added to the Winter Olympics: ski mountaineering, or skimo. This exciting addition will take place in Bormio, featuring three medal events.
Athletes will sprint uphill with adhesive skins on their skis, then remove them and continue climbing on foot. After another uphill ski section, they remove the skins again and ski downhill to the finish.
While there are no British athletes competing in skimo, several new events have been added to the Milan-Cortina programme, including dual moguls, luge doubles, team alpine combined, ski jumping, and the mixed relay team in skeleton.
The Build-Up
Milan and Cortina were chosen as host cities in 2019, and while existing facilities are being used, new venues have been created for ice hockey and sliding sports.
A year before the Games, the Cortina Sliding Centre faced a race against time to be ready, but it was completed in time for the November bobsleigh and skeleton season. However, the Milano Santagiulia ice hockey stadium hasn't been so fortunate.
Olympic organisers recently confirmed the stadium won't be fully finished for Thursday's first match, but all fixtures will be played there. The 11,800-capacity stadium has faced delays and controversies, including a boycott threat from the National Hockey League (NHL) due to the rink's shorter length and potential ice quality issues.
And in a controversial turn of events, Italy's biathlete Rebecca Passler was kicked out of the Games on Monday due to a failed doping test.
Russian and Belarusian Athletes
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports have been banned from many sports. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in September that athletes from these nations could compete under a neutral flag and strict conditions, as seen at the 2024 summer Olympics.
These conditions include not actively supporting the war and not being contracted to the military. As a result, 20 competitors from Russia and Belarus will participate as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs) across eight sports.
Interestingly, evidence suggests that four of the approved Russian athletes have links to activity supporting the war in Ukraine. These athletes are figure skater Petr Gumennik, cross-country skiers Savelii Korostelev and Dariya Nepryaeva, and speed skater Kseniia Korzhova.
The IOC stated that the panel reviewed the athletes in accordance with their established principles but could not comment on individual cases.
So, what do you think? Are you excited for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments!
