The Italian National Olympic Committee has informed the International Olympic Committee of its desire to proceed with the Dialogue Phase for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, which had already been initiated over the previous months following the invitation received from the IOC on 29 September 2017.

Due to the need to comply with the formal due date specified by the IOC and following numerous meetings and communications with the heads of the International Olympic Committee, CONI expressed this intention in a letter, declaring the candidatures of the City of Milan/Turin.

This letter also explicitly stated that CONI is awaiting the formation of the new government to which, adhering to the times and methods agreed, it shall present a feasibility study, already completed at the beginning of 2018, for a comprehensive evaluation of the entire project, which could benefit the whole of Italy, even in the light of the cost reductions in the 2020 Agenda.

CONI notes that the dialogue phase involves collaboration between CONI, the City and the IOC in order to identify the best solution for the needs of the country, therefore considering the possibility, as part of a joint project, of expanding potential solutions for the different Olympic competitions to other areas.

Following the dialogue phase, in view of its technical expertise and in compliance with the Olympic Charter, it will be the IOC alone to make the decision regarding which City will be invited to be the official candidate for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

For additional comments, CONI would like to draw attention to the IOC communications scheduled for Tuesday 3 April.

The Italian National Olympic Committee, after publishing the press release in which it announced the intention to continue in the phase of dialogue for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games with the City of Milan/Turin, received a letter this afternoon from the Mayor of Cortina and a letter from the President of the Veneto Region in which they express their interest in entering the phase of dialogue for the same candidacy process with the city of Cortina.
CONI forwarded the two letters properly to the CIO General Director in the common interest of identifying the best scenario for the Italian territory.