BORMIO, Italy, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Walk past the centrepiece of Bormio’s Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic events, the Stelvio ski slope, and you hear the clatter of construction as viewing screens and lights are pulled together.
The first of the town’s Olympic events starts on Saturday with the men’s Alpine skiing downhill, one of the Winter Games’ most anticipated races.
The construction scenes in the idyllic mountain town on Tuesday are mirrored in Cortina d'Ampezzo, which has garnered a lot of skepticism about unfinished sites.
Bormio’s Mayor Silvia Cavazzi said it may be difficult for other countries to accept but finishing projects just on time is how her country functions.
“In Italy it is always like that, we are the champions of the last minute," she said.
She added that Italians let their hair down when the work is finally done.
BORMIO BOOSTS ITS PROFILE
The statements contrast with those of Andrea Varnier, CEO of Milano Cortina, who took issue with stereotypes of his country in Tuesday’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) session.
“Many people say that Italians are exceptionally good at arriving at the last minute, at delivering important goals right on the finish line,” he said.
“This may sometimes be true, and it can even tickle someone's pride, but it is a stereotype that I've never accepted, a stereotype that provokes a deep sense of frustration in me and in my closest collaborators,” Varnier said in the conference.
Both Varnier and Cavazzi are confident that the sites will be ready for the big competitions.
For Bormio, it means a boost in visibility and international tourists. Beyond that, as a skiing town that is a regular feature on the ski World Cup circuit, it means reaching a milestone.
“It is a story built up through 40 years of work,” Cavazzi said. “We have now arrived at this goal to have the Olympics.”
As an Italian, it is also moving that her town received a blessing from Pope Leo.
“We got a message from Rome,” Cavazzi said, “In our country this is very important.”
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Bormio and Karolos Grohmann in Milan)
