The IOC Commission in Milan. Visit to the facilities and areas indicated for MPC, IBC and the Olympic Village
- MILANO CORTINA 2026
The IOC Evaluation Commission discovers Milan The third day of visit of the international delegation, led by Octavian Morariu, opened in the Lombard city: this is the last leg of the tour - which will close formally on Saturday - called to unveil the project linked to the candidacy of Milan Cortina for the 2026 Winter Olympics. After the inspection of the Ice Hockey facility, the former Palasharp, it was San Siro’s turn, a venue envisaged to host the five-circle event opening ceremony.
The Commission was accompanied by INOC President Giovanni Malagò, the Secretary General, Carlo Mornati, the bid coordinator Diana Bianchedi, the IOC member Ivo Ferriani, the honorary member Mario Pescante, the President of ASOIF Francesco Ricci Bitti, the Secretary General of FISG and Olympic champion Ippolito Sanfratello, the Undersecretary for Large Sporting Events of the Lombardy Region and Olympian Antonio Rossi, and by the Councilor for Sport, Tourism and Quality of Life of the Municipality of Milan Roberta Guaineri.
Two representatives of Milan and Inter have also participated in the visit: for the red and black club, the President Paolo Scaroni and the former player Franco Baresi; for the black and blue club, the CEO Alessandro Antonello and the former player Francesco Toldo. Amongst those present there were also the hockey legend Lucio Topatigh and the young talent ready to emulate his accomplishments Davide Fadani.
Immediately after the delegation moved to Fiera di Rho, where MPC, IBC and a training venue should be built, prior to visiting the Assago Forum, where - among others - Barbara Fusar Poli (bronze at 2002 Salt Lake City) was present. The day ended with visits to Santa Giulia, expected to host the Ice Hockey facility, and Porta Romana area intended for the Olympic Village. (Photo Mezzelani GMT Sport)
IOC Commission in Cortina, Anterselva, Baselgà di Pinè and Val di Fiemme. The reception of the Olympians
- MILANO CORTINA 2026
The visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission - led by Romanian Octavian Morariu - concerning the candidacy of Milan Cortina for the 2026 Olympic Games has officially begun in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
The delegation carried out the first inspection at the Tofane slope, which will host the women's alpine skiing and the team event competitions, and then visited the historic facility where the opening ceremony of the '56 Games was held, a potential curling venue, and the sliding center - where sled, bob and skeleton competitions are scheduled - concluding its visit at Fiames, the area envisaged to accommodate the Olympic Village. In addition to the CONI President Giovanni Malagò, the Secretary General Carlo Mornati, the Italian National Olympic Committee 'team' and the bid coordinator Diana Bianchedi, in attendance were also IOC member Ivo Ferriani, the ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti, the mayor of Cortina Gianpietro Ghedina, the deputy mayor Luigi Alverà, the President of Fondazione Cortina 2021 Alessandro Benetton, the Olympic luger Armin Zoeggeler, and the symbol of the place Kristian Ghedina.
The Commission then moved to Anterselva, a venue indicated to host the biathlon competitions and the venue for the next World Championships. The President of the Province Arno Kompatscher and Mayor Thomas Schuster will do the honors. Among those present were the INOC President Bolzano, Heinz Gutweniger, the President of the Organizing Committee of the 2020 World Championship, Lorenz Leitgeb, and the Olympic medalist Lukas Hofer. In the afternoon, the commission will be transfered to Baselga di Pinè, in Val di Fiemme - in Tesero and Predazzo -, to inspect the areas and facilities intended to accommodate speed skating, cross-country skiing, and jumping.
Attending the visit in Baselgà di Pinè were the Olympic champions Enrico Fabris (2 gold medals at Turin 2006), Matteo Anesi, Ippolito Sanfratello (both gold at Turin 2006) and Arianna Fontana, gold at PyeongChang 2018, where she was also the flag bearer of the Italian team and was awarded eight overall medals at the Games. Andrea Giovannini also participated, sixth in PyeongChang (Team Pursuit) and Sergio Anesi, FISO Commissioner.
In Tesero, the Commission was welcomed by the Olympians Franco Nones (gold at Grenoble '68) and Christian Zorzi (gold at Turin 2006), by Bice Vanzetta (bronze at Albertville 1992 and Lillehammer 1994), and by Chiara Costazza, Alexia Runggaldier, Alex Insam and the paralympic Giacomo Bertagnolli; in Predazzo, the Malsiner sisters, Lara and Emanuela, Alessandro Pittin (bronze at Vancouver 2010) and Veronica Gianmoena did the honors.
"The sites, the clusters, were presented perfectly. Some know each other, others understand what they should become. I've been optimistic since day one, but I keep my feet firmly on the ground. This is a stage race, the goal is 24 June, with IOC’s pronouncement," stated INOC President Giovanni Malagò. (Photo Mezzelani GMT Sport)
The visit of the Evaluation Commission starts from Venice. "Dreaming together"
- MILANO CORTINA 2026
A press conference in the Veneto Region today kicked off the official visit of the CIO Evaluation Commission for the candidacy of Milan Cortina in connection with the 2026 Winter Olympics and Special Olympics.
The international delegation was welcomed by the Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers with delegation to sport, Giancarlo Giorgetti, CONI president, Giovanni Malagò, Secretary General Carlo Mornati, the governor of Veneto, Luca Zaia and by the mayor of Cortina, Giampietro Ghedina.
The committee is led by CIO member Octavian Morariu and comprised of Kristin Kloster Aasen, Hong Zhang (CIO members), and representatives of the Roman Kumpost Olympic Movement (Czech Republic, ANOC member and Vice President of the Czech Olympic Committee), Heike Groesswang (Germany, AIOWF member and Secretary General of the International Federation of Bob and Skeleton), Marianna Davis (USA, IPC Board member), Lee Hee-Beom (South Korea, President of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics Organizing Committee) and Josè Luis Marco (Argentina, Beijing 2022 and Vancouver 2010 Coordinating Committee, member of the London 2012, Salt Lake City 2002, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Assessment Committees).
Also present was CIO Olympic Games Executive Director, Christophe Dubi, the Associate Director for Olympic candidacies, Jacqueline Barrett and International Olympic Committee consultants, Tim Gayda (Canada), Grant Thomas and Steve Wilson (USA), along with other CIO administrative officials.
Today Milano and Cortina have launched bid's claim: "Dreaming together", that appear in Venice's Airport.
The visit will continue tomorrow from Cortina, with the first stop at Tofane, the location identified for women’s Alpine Skiing and the team event. Then it will move on to the sliding centre, the curling facility and the area that will host one of the 3 Olympic Villages. The day will continue with the trip to Anterselva, the venue chosen to host the biathlon competitions, and then on to Baselga di Pinè, in the Fiemme Valley, Tesero and Predazzo for a site visit of the facilities which will host speed skating, cross-country skiing and ski jumping.
Executive Board accepts Paris 2024 proposal for new sports
- IOC
The IOC Executive Board today supported the recommendation of the Olympic Programme Commission to put forward Paris 2024’s proposal for new sports – breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing – to the upcoming IOC Session in June. “All four of these proposed sports are clearly in line with Olympic Agenda 2020. They contribute to making the programme of the Olympic Games more gender balanced, more youthful and more urban. They offer the opportunity to connect with the young generation,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Pending the outcome of the IOC Session, it is important to note that the sports would be provisionally included. The final decision should be taken only at the end of 2020".Also in keeping with Olympic Agenda 2020, Paris 2024 proposed sports that could be considered within the Olympic Charter framework of approximately 10,500 athletes. Breaking and sport climbing both appeared as medal events at Buenos Aires 2018, while skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing will make their debuts on the Olympic programme in Tokyo. If the proposal is approved at the IOC Session, and following any necessary observations, including at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the event programme and athlete quotas will then be finalised at the IOC Executive Board meeting in December 2020. Paris 2024 also presented on its interest in new areas of engagement, such as inviting fans from all over the world to share in the Olympic experience through both mass-participation events and connected events, bringing spectators closer to the action.
Lausanne 2020 reveals its pictograms 300 days before kick-off
- LAUSANNE 2020
Pictograms, graphic representations of sports disciplines, are a core element of the visual expression of the Olympic Games. In line with its ambition to active involve young people in the preparation and organization of the event, Lausanne 2020 has entrusted the development of the pictograms to ERACOM (Ecole romande d’arts et communication de Lausanne), a Lausanne-based arts school. With 300 days to go before the Opening Ceremony, the pictograms were official unveiled today by Lausanne 2020.
ERACOM, whose apprentices have already created Lausanne 2020’s mascot “Yodli”, which was introduced to the public early this year, gathered three classes from its graphics department for this new project. A total of 36 apprentices worked together to produce the 16 pictograms, which represent each of the winter sports included in the Lausanne 2020 programme.
Upon the unveiling of the pictograms, Adrien Jenni, Director of ERACOM, said: “We are very proud of these young first-year apprentices, who showed a lot of ambition and hard work towards this one-year project. From around thirty initial proposals, three were shortlisted, with the winner named by a jury including representatives of ERACOM, Lausanne 2020 and the IOC. Just like the mascot, we are delighted to see these pictograms come to life and contribute to the identity of the 2020 Youth Games.”
Once the final pictograms were chosen, a class of fourth year students from the interactive media design programme worked on their animation. These animated pictograms are visible today and will be used on all Lausanne 2020 digital platforms, before and during the Games.
Reflecting on the project, Viviane Morey, coordinator of the Lausanne 2020 projects at ERACOM, said: “To draw inspiration, we mainly focused on the athletes’ movements while practicing the different disciplines. From painting to drawing, and even some experiments using water in the schoolyard to practice Chinese calligraphy, various creative techniques were used! And we are very happy with the result. For us, it is a great source of pride to be able to contribute to the development of an Olympic event.”
Ian Logan, Director General of Lausanne 2020 also expressed his gratitude towards the project, adding: “The success of Lausanne 2020 will partly be measured by its impact within schools. Today, hundreds of young people are involved in the preparation of Lausanne 2020, developing new skills and knowledge in a variety of areas. The commitment of the youth is part of our project’s DNA and I would like to thank ERACOM for this high-quality work and fruitful collaboration. We look forward to working on more projects together.”
Unveils Olympic Games Sport Pictograms. Designs embody the artistry of athletes in action
- TOKYO 2020
The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020) today unveiled the official sport pictograms of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. In line with the Tokyo 2020 brand promise of “Innovation from Harmony”, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 sport pictograms are designed to subtly communicate the characteristics and athleticism of each sport, as well as artistically highlights the dynamism of athletes. They will play a key role in enhancing the experience of athletes and spectators alike during the Olympic Games.
Olympic Games sport pictograms were first introduced at the Tokyo 1964 Games, which arose from a need to communicate visually to an increasingly international group of athletes and spectators. Since then, pictograms have been created for every edition of the Games.
While paying great respect to the predecessors and inheriting the Tokyo 1964 pictograms by innovating them, the Tokyo 2020 pictograms not only adhere to the objective of communicating information, but also are designed to display athletes’ vibrant movement in the most attractive way.
There are 33 sports that will feature in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 programme, and some sports use more than one pictogram. There are two sets of 50 designs – “Free Type” and “Frame Type”. Colour variations will be developed mainly using the blue of the Tokyo 2020 Emblems and five other traditional Japanese colours—kurenai, ai, sakura, fuji and matsuba— as sub-colours to create points of difference. The Free Type unframed pictograms will be used on posters, tickets and licensed products, and the Frame Type pictograms will be used for more functional purposes on maps, signage at competition venues, guidebooks, and on websites.
A team led by renowned Japanese designer Masaaki Hiromura designed the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 sport pictograms.
Hiromura said, “It is a real honour to have participated in the design of the Tokyo 2020 sport pictograms. I have tried to express the dynamic beauty of the athletes through these pictograms, while respecting the legacy bequeathed by the pioneers of the Japanese design industry in their designs for the Tokyo 1964 Games. The 2020 designs took us almost two years to complete and they embody the thoughtful input of the many people involved. I hope that these pictograms will inspire everyone and help generate excitement for the different sports at Tokyo 2020, and that they will colourfully decorate the Tokyo 2020 Games.”
Decoration on the fences surrounding the Olympic athletes’ village construction site
This project by Tokyo 2020 Gold Partner Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd will be the first in which decorations are installed around the city. The sports pictograms will decorate the exterior of the Olympic athletes’ village site, where construction is scheduled to be completed in December 2019, to help build excitement for the Games.
President Mattarella: "Full support for Milano Cortina 2026"
- OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES
President Sergio Mattarella on Tuesday vowed the "utmost support" for Milano and Cortina's bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. He said the Winter Games "have great importance, not only for the two protagonist cities but also for the while of Italy". Mattarella said "I assure all the support and backing possible".
Design your way to the olympic capital!
- LAUSANNE 2020
Alling all talented designers and creatives across the globe: you could be the creator of the medals for the youth olympic games lausanne 2020. do you have what it takes? submit your design and you could win a trip to lausanne, the olympic capital, in january 2020 for the winter youth olympic games!
Entering is the easy part: go to www.medal-design-competition.com, then find your inspiration and submit your very own design. The competition opens today 14 February 2019 and runs until 8 April 2019.
The winning design and two runners-up will be selected by a judging panel made up of the Young Change-Makers+ and Young Reporters who have been involved in in previous editions of the Games. Also joining the panel will be the Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Lausanne 2020, Olympian Danka Bartekova; Virginie Faivre, Lausanne 2020 President and ski freestyle legend; and Viviane Morey, dean at Eracom, Lausanne's professional school of applied arts and communication, whose students created the 2020 Youth Olympic Games mascot.
The winning design will be selected at the end of April 2019, and this will then feature on the gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to athletes from 9 to 22 January 2020. The reverse of the medal will be designed by the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee after this contest, in order to have a look that works well with the winning design of this year’s competition.
In addition to the prestige of creating Olympic history, the winning designer will win a trip to Lausanne to enjoy the Opening Ceremony and witness the awarding of their medals at the sports competitions, as well as a full set of medals featuring their design for them to cherish.
So, what are you waiting for? Create a piece of Olympic history and enter your medal design!
Lillehammer '94, the first 'White Green Games'
- 25 YEARS AGO
The Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games took place from 12 to 27 February 1994. They were the first Winter Games to be held in a different year from the Summer Games of the same Olympic cycle.
The Games organisers set out with the aims of protecting the environment, promoting business development and increasing tourism. Although not all the objectives were fully achieved, the Lillehammer Games became an example of sustainable best practices in mega event organisation.
The Olympic Games Lillehammer 1994 are widely seen as the first ‘White Green Games’: they were the first Olympic Games to showcase environmental and sustainability practices. They laid the foundations for the development of Olympic environmental standards and further strengthened Norway’s commitment to sustainability.
All 10 sporting venues that were purpose-built for the 1994 Games remain in use today. During the Games, they attracted up to 200,000 people daily – an impressive result considering Lillehammer’s population of 23,000 at the time.
The Olympic Games Lillehammer 1994 created an opportunity for local companies to expand their activities and triggered the development of new ideas. New competencies were developed in the areas of new technologies applied for the design and construction of sports facilities, data systems, marketing, sponsorship and project management.
Lillehammer 1994 inspired a ‘golden’ generation of athletes in the country and triggered the country’s dominance in winter sports which continues to this day.
Photo: copyright 1994 /Allsport - IOC
Once the Olympic tripod has been lit, the first medals are awarded
- OPEN THE EYOF OFSARAJEVO
With the lighting of the tripod by the Bosnian judoka Larisa Cerić, the curtain was raised on the 14th edition of the Winter EYOFs, scheduled until 16 February in Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. "We create together" was the slogan of the ceremony that took place at the "Asim Ferhatović Hase" Olympic Stadium , in a country that after the Balkan War retied its five circle bond that was waved over three decades ago on that same stage on the occasion of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo. Amongst the 46 countries present, to captain the Italian delegation - comprising 37 Italian athletes (18 men and 19 women) - was the standard-bearer Elisa Confortola, bronze medalist in the short-track relay at 2018 Tomaszow Mazowiecki and 2019 Montreal Junior World Championships.
The first medals in the eight disciplines scheduled for the event dedicated to athletes between 14 and 18 have already been awarded today.
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