The Italian government Wednesday named Vincenzo Novari as CEO of the future Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games organizing committee.
The 60-year-old was elected unanimously by a pre-organizing committee at a meeting of the Italian Sport Ministry in Rome in the presence of Minister Vincenzo Spadafora. Novari was formerly the CEO of Italian telecommunications firm Tre Italia from 2001 to 2016 before its merger with Wind. He later founded business services startup SoftYou that was sold in 2018.
Milano-Cortina was awarded the 2026 Games by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last June 24 when the Italian bid defeated an entry from Stockholm-Åre by a vote of 47 to 34. Italian Olympic Committee Chief Giovanni Malago led the bid committee and will continue to lead the new organizing committee that is expected to officially form next year.
Organizers have planned a 1.5 billion euro (USD $1.66 billion) budget for the Games that would involve events scattered across Northern Italy with an Opening Ceremony planned for Milan and sliding and skiing events in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Most needed facilities already exist or will be temporarily built for the Games, but a new sliding track will be constructed in Cortina.1.7 billion).
The next Winter Games will be staged in Beijing in 2022.
