The Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games closed Sunday at a ceremony in the Verona Arena, a 2000-year-old Roman amphitheater. The use of the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site to reflect on and memorialize Italy’s Games was an appropriate nod to the ancient roots of the Olympics.
But the choice also reinforces the “widespread Games” mantra we’ve been hearing for over two weeks in Italy. The Olympic flame was symbolically brought into the arena for the ceremony, but both official cauldrons were then extinguished simultaneously – Milano’s at the Arco della Pace about 175 km away and Cortina’s 250 km off into the mountains.
Dubbed “Beauty in Action,” the ceremony was meant to show opera, music, dance, cinema, design, and technology in a singular visual narrative – connecting Verona, Milano, and Cortina. It was a more understated and less raucous celebration than past closing ceremonies with athletes bused in from different clusters across northern Italy.
The ancient Arena was retrofitted with modern technology including 800 square meters of LED lighting panels and a flying system allowing for breathtaking aerial performances.
The closing ceremony provides more than closure for the 16 days of intense competition – it also serves as a bridge to the next Games. A nine-minute segment was an invitation for nations to prepare for, in this case, the French Alps 2030 Olympic Winter Games to be staged in Nice and in mountain venues to the north including 1992 Games host Albertville.
A reimagined version of the French national anthem, La Marseillaise, sets the tone for the narrative organizers named “A New Dawn,” the symbol of life and hope. The Olympic Flag was passed from the Mayors of Milan and Cortina to the hosts of the 2030 Games.
Hope is key for French Alps as rifts have developed among leadership ranks, and high-level resignations along with delays have ensued. The official emblem that is often introduced at the handover is not yet ready and sponsorship deals are below expectations.
The ceremony closed with American EDM and DJ artists Major Lazer along with choreographed dancers and special guests performing hits ‘Lean On’ and ‘Light it Up’ and Reggaeton classic ‘Watch Out For This.” Athletes moved to the music in their seats but didn’t make it to the stage for a full celebration as organizers might have hoped.
The 2026 Games in Italy are over, but they’ll be back. Dolomiti Valtellina is set to host the Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2028 using many of the same venues featured at Milano Cortina. French Alps 2030 organizers have said they may stage speed skating in Turin at the same venue used in the 2006 Winter Games. The former governor of the Veneto region told reporters he hopes to develop a bid for a Venice 2036 Summer Games.
But in the future, the Winter Olympics may look different. They will remain somewhat widespread in 2030 but the 2034 Games already set for Utah, USA will sit on the same compact footprint that staged the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) preferred bid for 2038 is a Swiss project that proposes a nationwide Games – more widespread than ever.
The sports program may never be the same. New IOC president Kirsty Coventry has asked for sweeping changes as part of her “fit for the future” agenda designed to address climate change, sustainability and to control the scale of the Games. According to the Olympic Charter, the Winter Olympics can feature only sports that are contested on ice or snow.
But now discussions are underway to move some traditional Summer Games sports into the Winter edition. Further talks could eliminate some costly or climate vulnerable winter sports altogether. The IOC and French Alps organizing committee are set to unveil the 2030 sport program and venue plan in June, and it could redefine the Winter Games forever.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Games will be remembered as a success. Most hurdles were overcome and major challenges met. But they could also be remembered as watershed Games as major changes are on their way.
For now the Olympic Movement will shift focus to the United States and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games amid president Donald Trump’s growing isolationism and increasing friction with the international community.
