Seoul: With over three decades of experience in communication and sports events, Andrea Varnier, CEO of the organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo of Italy, is no stranger to the Olympics. He was the image and events managing director for the 2006 Winter Olympics in another Italian city, Turin, and later served as an adviser for the International Olympic Committee in the buildup to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing.
According to Yonhap News Agency, despite his wealth of knowledge, Varnier still has made an effort to learn from what past Olympic host cities have done, as he tries to get Italy ready for its first Winter Olympics in 20 years. In particular, Varnier has taken cues from the 2018 Winter Olympics in the South Korean resort town of PyeongChang -- the last pre-pandemic Winter Games. "We study all the previous Games and especially the most recent. And since Beijing (in 2022) basically only had domestic spectators (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), we studied PyeongChang very much," Varnier told Yonhap News Agency in an interview Wednesday in Seoul. "The model for transportation, some of the technology upgrade that was done in PyeongChang, the sustainability focus. So yes, I think we had some important inspiration, especially in the area of logistics and transport."
Varnier was in South Korea to help promote the 2026 Olympics with an event at High Street Italia, the Italian cultural and trade promotion center located in the trendy southern Seoul neighborhood of Sinsa-dong.
With about seven months left until the opening ceremony, Varnier said he is "happy with the progress we've made, especially in the last year" but also noted there are "many challenges still ahead of us."
One of the biggest challenges for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be managing the venues scattered across Italy. According to Varnier, this will be the "most widespread Games we've ever had," with venues covering 22,000 square kilometers of land. The competition bears the names of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, and they will hold ice events, sliding events, women's alpine skiing and biathlon. And there will be two other "clusters" of venues: Valtellina Cluster for men's alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and ski mountaineering, and Val di Fiemme Cluster for ski jumping, Nordic combined and cross-country skiing. The opening ceremony will be in Milan, but the closing ceremony will be held in Verona, some 150 kilometers east of Milan.
Varnier said Italy chose to spread these venues across the country "not because we wanted to make life difficult for everyone" but to ensure sustainability.
"We chose to go in places where most of the venues already existed, and not only the infrastructure but also the knowledge from the people," he said. "The best place for biathlon, the best place for alpine skiing, the best place for cross-country skiing (are all different) because that's where you find not only infrastructure but also the passion, the experience from the people."
Varnier believes this setup will work for Italy precisely because how different each city is.
"First of all, we have Milan, a city which is used to having large events. So they're really looking forward to embracing the Games," he said. "And in different locations, they're so passionate for their sport, and the Olympic level is the maximum level for that sport. So we believe that this system will still bring the overall excitement for the Games."
Varnier said his organizing committee had received more than 120,000 applications when it was looking for just 18,000 volunteers.
"That's much more than we ever thought and much more than you could receive in one city," he said with a smile. "So it means that the expectation for the Games and the excitement are very high."
Varnier also dispelled concerns about the state of the Cortina Sliding Centre. Lake Placid, New York, has been mentioned as a Plan B if the Italian venue can't be completed on time, but Varnier said the construction of the track is finished, with the final steps being taken to put the roof over it. The track underwent a pre-homologation process in March, with athletes testing the venue and officials from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and International Luge Federation carrying out inspections.
Varnier said the construction needs to be done by October for the final homologation, followed by test events and training sessions.
"Many athletes from Italy but also from many other countries tested the track, and they were very happy," Varnier said. "They really liked it, and only very small variations had to be done after pre-homologation. And technology helps. Now, they have engineering models that it's very difficult, from the project (stage) to pre-homologation, to find surprises."
Varnier said he hopes South Korean athletes will also enjoy their experience in Italy next year and added his organizing committee will do its best to create an environment that can help them find success. "We believe that Korea is one of the most important countries for sport in general," he said. "You hosted the Games a few times, and you've won several medals. You're an important country for the Olympic Movement and Paralympic Movement. We really hope that your athletes find the best condition for their best performance."
Varnier said South Korean fans of winter sports visiting Italy will also be in for a treat.
"I think the most interesting part of our Games is that you will have the opportunity to see many very different things," he said. "Apart from the sport, you have the Alps, and it's good to have winter sports in the Alps because those are the mountains where winter sports were born. And in the Alps, you have valleys that are very close to one another but very different. Different languages and foods, because there are ancient cultures in the valleys. And then you have Milan, which is the most contemporary city in Italy. And so this contrast, I think, would be a fantastic experience for all the fans."