Reporting from Main Press Centre in Milan, Italy – As the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games are underway across northern Italy, the IOC is keeping an eye on developments that could pose a threat to the next edition set to take place four years from now in the French Alps.
Delays and disputes among leadership have resulted in resignations and the situation has culminated in a conflict between Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier Edgar Grospiron, president of the organizing committee and director general Cyril Linette. On Tuesday it was announced that Linette has resigned.
That follows recent such exits including CEO Anne Murac, communications director Arthur Richer and remuneration committee chair Bertrand Meheut, throwing the organizing committee into disarray with only four years until the Opening Ceremony.
On the emerging governance crisis, IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi told GamesBids.com in Milan Wednesday “It’s incredibly hard in the sense that time is always ticking and you have to look at one thing is one action to the next which leads to resolve to eventually an Opening Ceremony – we can’t lose time.”
Dubi said the governance issue is “a collective human adventure” that “unfolded here while we were in Milano and in front of of the media.”
“You know it’s it’s really hard but at the same time I know that the organization will bounce back.”
The venue plan for the project has yet to be confirmed and cost estimates are growing as the organizing committee considers staging the speed skating competition at an existing venue in the Netherlands or Italy to avoid additional construction costs. Initial plans had ice events staged in the coastal resort city of Nice and snow events along the Alps in the north including some legacy sites from the Albertville 1992 Games.
The final program including any additional sports proposed by the organizing committee, and the masterplan that had been expected to be finalized before the Milano Cortina Games, are now expected “by early summer” according to an International Olympic Committee (IOC) release. The Games emblem that would typically appear at the handover ceremony scheduled February 22 in Verona will now be released in the spring.
A presentation to IOC members at a Session held in Milan ahead of the current Games noted the delayed progress but understated the turmoil on the ground in France, and the most recent fallout occurred following the opening.
But Dubi pushed back on the negativity and added “[The organizing committee has] made good progress and I’ve seen a number of things including the design for the new emblem and everything is going to be great.”
“I hope we have an announcement regarding commercial contracts pretty soon and it’s also going to be super.”
According to AP, an Executive Board meeting is to be held February 22 with a further March 19 meeting that may serve to reboot the organization.
The French government has also taken notice of the governance crisis and its risk to the organization of the Games and the Senate has asked leadership to a hearing February 25.
“In the National assembly there was a question to the Minister of Sports, she was very clear that this is a governance matter and needs to be addressed and quickly because we don’t want any impact on on the project itself and need so many many objectives,” Dubi said.
The French Alps 2030 bid was a late entry into what had been a lengthy process where other cities had dropped out. Plans were hastily developed and the Games were awarded a year later, speedier than what had been a typical two-year timeframe. The IOC’s Executive Board approved the bid for targeted dialogue without any opponent and IOC members voted to accept the project with 84 member votes in support, four against and seven abstentions.
For the first time the host contract was signed conditionally, with the required government guarantee following months later after delays.
Meanwhile, the first major public-facing milestone is set to take place in nine days with an Olympic flag handover ceremony designed to introduce the next Winter Games host to the world. Will recent developments cast a shadow on this?
“No, I don’t think so,” Dubi told GamesBids.com.
“The handover ceremony is about the flag, the Olympic spirit coming back, the celebrations of athletes in Albertville on the location where they had the opening ceremony back in 1992 – I don’t think that individuals are greater than that kind of celebration.”
“To the contrary, I think it’s going to be all about celebrations.”
