Almost as soon as the final medals were awarded, attention turned to a possible Summer Games in Rome in 2036 or 2040, despite a broader trend of countries declining to bid for the Olympics amid astronomical costs.
Hosting the Summer Games is “a dream that we are all silently harboring,” Sports Minister Andrea Abodi admitted to reporters in Cortina.
In 2016, Rome withdrew from the race to host the 2024 Summer Olympics due to concerns over debt and cost overruns. But Giovanni Malagò, head of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee, said the success of the Winter Games could “certainly” reopen Rome’s candidacy.
It is premature to discuss it, Malagò said, “but Rome has two advantages, a unique history also as an Olympic city and extraordinary sports structures such as the Olympic Stadium.” Rome hosted the Olympics in 1960.
Luciano Buonfiglio, president of the national Olympic Committee, said that Italy should capitalize on the Milan-Cortina momentum. “At a moment when we have international credibility, it is possible to build a strong bid,” he told Italian radio.
The prospect is already rippling through domestic politics. Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, told POLITICO the Olympics would be “a positive thing” for Rome and could provide direction for the city’s development. While Rome still struggles with traffic and waste management, Calenda argued that hosting the Games would help long-term planning.