The newest wrinkle in the bid process for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is the move of the International Olympic Committee Session for 2019 from Milan (ITA) to the Olympic capital of Lausanne, Switzerland.
The move was needed because Milan was the host of that Session, at which the 2026 Winter Games will be awarded. The conflict of having the vote in one of the candidate cities is too obvious for the IOC and it moved the event on its own. The Italians were told at a meeting of its National Olympic Committee, known as CONI, along with the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, in Lausanne earlier this week.
There are also conflicting reports on whether the Italian government will agree to support the Milan-Cortina bid, as it was ready to when Turin was also involved. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was reported as saying the government would help, but Giancarlo Giorgetti, the Secretary of the Council of Ministers – and primary contact for CONI on this bid – indicated that governmental funding was not assured.
