It’s 500 days before the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games begin, and Valentino Castellani, former Mayor of Turin and now president of the Turin Olympic Organizing Committee said, “we are betting a lot on the possibility of promoting tourism, and the Olympics are a fantastic opportunity”.
More than $6 billion is being spent to improve Turin’s infrastructure, including the building of the city’s first subway. Italian officials are spending another $1.8 billion for projects directly related to the Games. The operating budget will be nearly $1.5 billion, most coming from television and marketing rights.
During the Olympics February 10-26, 2006, the media and international broadcast centres will be housed in the Lingotto, which was Fiat’s factory until it was turned into a hotel and conference centre in the 1980’s.
Nearby will be the Olympic Oval – the speed skating venue now under construction.
A new hockey arena is being built for all the ice events except curling. An existing facility will be used for hockey.
Figure skating and short-track speed skating will take place in The Palavela, an arena originally built in 1961, which is being refurbished.
Opening and Closing ceremonies will be held in a soccer stadium that was built in 1933, which will be refurbished.
A new biathlon facility is being built in the Italian Alps, as well as a new ski jump and a bobsled and luge venue.
Although International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge was recently concerned about construction lagging behind, Castellani is optimistic all venues will be ready this winter to host 17 test events.
But he is concerned about accommodation in the mountains, where about 1,000 extra rooms are needed. Also, transportation into the mountains could be slow. He conceded roads from Turin into the mountains wouldn’t carry traffic as efficiently as the traffic flow on wide Utah highways during the Salt Lake City Games.
Three stores that deal exclusively in Olympic merchandise have opened, with several more to follow, stocking T-shirts and sweatshirts. Also available are screwdrivers – for snowboards – and flasks, sporting the “Torino 2006” logo.
On November 4 tickets will go on sale to the public, the torch relay route will be unveiled in Rome December 7, the torch relay takes place December 8, 2005 to February 10, 2006, February 10, 2006 is the Opening Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony takes place February 26, 2006.
Meanwhile, Mario Pescante, Undersecretary of State for Sport in the Culture Minister, has been appointed as a “Comisario ad hoc”. He will be a liaison between the government and Turin 2006.
