CORTINA SLIDING TRACK: IOC WARNS "NO MORE EXCEPTIONS," RACES TO BE MOVED IF NOT APPROVED BY MARCH 2025

MILAN-CORTINA 2026 GAMES – The Olympic official told RSI that construction began extremely late, risking a "terrible situation." St. Moritz is a confirmed option.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not grant any further extensions regarding the Cortina sliding track, arguably the most contentious venue for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. This was made unequivocally clear by Christophe Dubi, Executive Director of the Olympic Games, in an interview with RSI (Radiotelevisione Svizzera).

"Our position is very clear," Dubi stated, "the work started extremely late. We have statistics showing that never before has a track been built in such a short time. So there is a significant risk for the completion of this construction project, which is complex in several aspects, especially technically, to ensure adequate safety."

Strict Deadline and Potential Consequences

"There will be no more exceptions," Dubi warned ominously. Following controversies over costs and sustainability—including the felling of 500 larch trees at the start of construction and a cost exceeding 80 million euros—the primary concern is now the timeline. The final deadline for the track's completion and approval is March 15, 2025.

"If the track is approved in March 2025, it will certainly be used for the Olympic Games," Dubi affirmed. "However, if it's not, there will be no more exceptions. If the work experiences delays over the next summer and autumn, a decision would have to be made to suspend it and not proceed with approval. So, obviously, we would find ourselves in an absolutely terrible situation because the work would have started, but we couldn't use the track. This is the worst-case scenario."

St. Moritz: The Preferred Alternative

Should an alternative venue be necessary, Dubi indicated that St. Moritz is the most accredited option. "Regarding the potential need to use another venue, it's up to the organizers to decide which option is most convincing. But the choice is generally in favor of St. Moritz," he explained. "Of course, this is not yet confirmed, because there is still a lot of work to do. But ultimately, it is the closest option to Livigno, with a possible synergy if we manage to keep the pass open between Livigno and St. Moritz, and this could offer a hub of Olympic activities in that region. Therefore, this is the preferred solution today."