After the Winter Olympic Games, Italians mostly rate Milano Cortina 2026 positively
The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games received a highly positive assessment from the Italian public after the end of the competitions, according to a survey conducted by Istituto Piepoli and the consulting company WePlan. According to the survey results published on May 18, 2026, 77 percent of surveyed Italians believe that the Games improved Italy's international image, while 76 percent recognized a positive effect on the economy, tourism and the areas involved in the organization. The data indicate that the Games, held from February 6 to 22, 2026, remained remembered in public perception not only as a sporting event but also as a project with reputational and developmental impact.
The survey is particularly important because it comes several months after the end of the Olympic Games, at a time when public debate is no longer limited only to sports results, but also to the question of the legacy of a major event. According to the published results, 78 percent of Italians followed the Games, and 66 percent of respondents said they felt informed and involved. Such findings show that the event had a strong reach among the population, even though it was geographically spread across several cities and mountain areas of northern Italy.
Milano Cortina 2026 was the first Winter Olympic Games organized according to the model of two official host cities, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with competitions also distributed to other locations, including Livigno, Bormio and Val di Fiemme. The International Olympic Committee states that these were Games that covered an area of about 22,000 square kilometres, with approximately 2,900 athletes from more than 90 national Olympic committees. The programme included 116 events in eight sports and 16 disciplines, and ski mountaineering was included in the Olympic programme for the first time.
The survey highlights the reputational effect for Italy
According to the Piepoli-WePlan survey, the largest share of respondents recognized precisely the international effect of the Games. The figure that 77 percent of Italians believe the event improved the country's image in the world points to the strong reputational capital that Italy achieved after hosting it. In the context of major sports competitions, such a perception has broader significance because it relates to a country's ability to organize complex events, attract global attention and connect its sporting, cultural and tourism offering.
The organizers and local institutions presented Milano Cortina 2026 as a project based not only on the construction of new venues, but also on the use of existing infrastructure and the inclusion of different urban and mountain environments. In its materials on sustainability and legacy, the International Olympic Committee states that the Games were shaped in accordance with the reforms of the Olympic Agenda, with an emphasis on adapting to existing infrastructure, local priorities and long-term socio-economic development. This very model appears in the survey as one of the reasons for the public's positive assessment.
According to media reports on the survey results, 79 percent of respondents believe that the model of a "distributed" event can also be applicable to future major events. This assessment is important because the Winter Olympic Games are increasingly facing questions of costs, environmental protection, transport sustainability and long-term benefits for local communities. For that reason, Milano Cortina 2026 is being presented in the Italian debate as a possible example of a different approach, in which a network of existing sports, tourism and transport capacities is used instead of concentrating all content in one city.
Economy, tourism and local development at the centre of the public assessment
The positive assessment of the economic impact is one of the most prominent messages of the survey. According to the results published by Italian media, 76 percent of surveyed Italians recognized the positive impact of the Games on the economy, tourism and the territories involved in the organization. Such an attitude does not mean that all long-term effects are already measurable, but it shows that the public connected the event with increased visibility of destinations, the arrival of visitors, international promotion and the stimulation of local activities.
Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo had different roles in this project. Milan was the centre of the urban and indoor part of the Games, including the opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium, while Cortina and other Alpine locations carried a large part of the competitions on snow and ice. In this way, the sports programme was connected with Italy's winter tourism offering, from ski resorts and mountain valleys to large cities with developed infrastructure. Precisely this combination, according to available analyses, contributed to the perception that the Games had broader tourism and developmental significance.
In its materials, the International Olympic Committee emphasized that Milano Cortina 2026 should encourage more active lifestyles and strengthen the resilience of local communities through the long-term development of urban and mountain regions. In practice, such a goal cannot be assessed only immediately after the end of the Games. The effect on tourism, transport, employment, small entrepreneurs and local budgets will be measured over a longer period, especially in the areas that hosted competitions or accompanying content.
Sporting success further strengthened the positive perception
The public assessment of the event was probably also influenced by the strong sporting result of the Italian national team. According to the official website of the organizers, Italy won 30 medals at the Games: 10 gold, 6 silver and 14 bronze. Such a result by the home national team increased public interest and gave the event an additional emotional layer, especially in disciplines in which Italian athletes achieved historic or particularly notable successes.
At major sports events, the results of home athletes often have a significant influence on the general impression of the public. When organizational success is connected with medals, viewership and a sense of involvement, the event is more often interpreted in collective memory as a national success. The figure that 78 percent of respondents followed the Games shows that Milano Cortina 2026 had a broad social presence, beyond the usual audience of winter sports.
The sports programme was distributed across several locations, which represented a logistical challenge, but at the same time enabled more areas to participate in Olympic visibility. Unlike the model in which most competitions take place in one centre, Milano Cortina 2026 relied on connecting different regions and identities: from metropolitan Milan to historic Olympic Cortina d’Ampezzo, which had already hosted the Winter Games in 1956. This symbolism further strengthened the message of continuity in Italy's Olympic tradition.
A model of a major event that also raises questions of costs
Although the latest survey shows strong public support, Milano Cortina 2026 was not without challenges and debates. As with other major sports events, questions of costs, deadlines, infrastructure, environmental impact and long-term cost-effectiveness were raised before and during the preparations. Such debates do not cancel out the positive assessment of the public, but they are important for a fuller understanding of the event and for future decisions on bids for similar events.
The decentralized model brought advantages in the use of existing capacities, but at the same time it required complex coordination of transport, security, accommodation, technical services and communication between distant locations. In its materials, the International Olympic Committee emphasized that the goal was to adapt the Games to the real context of northern Italy, and not to build a completely new Olympic system. This is in line with the broader effort to make Olympic hosting more sustainable and more acceptable to local communities.
For future hosts, the key question will be whether the positive perception of Milano Cortina can be turned into measurable long-term benefits. This includes the continued use of sports venues, maintaining tourism visibility, improving transport connectivity and strengthening the international position of destinations that were part of the Games. If these effects are confirmed in the years after the competition, Milano Cortina 2026 could serve as a relevant example for organizing major events in multiple cities and regions.
A message for future bids and mega-events
The results of the Piepoli-WePlan survey come at a time when many countries and cities are taking a more cautious approach to bids for major sporting events. Organization costs, security requirements, climate change and pressure on local communities have become important factors in public debates about Olympic and other mega-projects. For this reason, the finding that 79 percent of Italians consider the Milano Cortina model applicable to future major events is politically and organizationally significant.
For Italy, this was the fourth Olympic hosting, after the Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, the Summer Games in Rome in 1960 and the Winter Games in Turin in 2006. Milano Cortina 2026 therefore had an additional historical dimension, but also the pressure to show how an Olympic project can be adapted to contemporary expectations. According to the survey, most respondents believe that this goal was achieved at least in terms of perception.
WePlan co-founders Giorgio Re and Roberto Daneo, according to published statements in Italian media, assessed that the Games created a concrete and lasting value effect and that they can be an international reference point for future bids. Such an assessment is expected from a company involved in the field of planning and legacy of major events, but it fits into the broader finding of the survey: the Italian public generally perceives Milano Cortina 2026 as a successful project.
The legacy will be measured for years after the end of the Games
The greatest challenge for hosts of major sporting events begins precisely after the spotlights go out. The short-term impression, viewership and medals can create a strong positive effect, but lasting legacy depends on whether infrastructure, international visibility and organizational experience will remain useful to local communities. In the case of Milano Cortina 2026, the survey shows that the public currently recognizes such a possibility and that the event left the impression of a successfully implemented event.
At the same time, the final assessment of the Olympic legacy will require data on tourism trends, economic effects, maintenance costs, use of venues and resident satisfaction in the host areas. Positive perception is important initial capital, but it does not replace long-term monitoring of results. That is precisely why the Piepoli-WePlan survey should be viewed as a valuable indicator of public sentiment after the Games, and not as a final economic balance sheet.
At this moment, for most Italians, Milano Cortina 2026 is an example of an event that combined sport, international promotion and regional visibility. According to the available survey results, most respondents believe that the Winter Olympic Games improved the country's image, had a positive effect on the economy and tourism, and showed that major events can be organized through a network of different hosts. Whether this model will become a lasting standard for future bids will depend on how much the positive expectations are confirmed in the years to come.
Sources:
- Inside the Games – report on the Piepoli-WePlan survey and public assessment of Milano Cortina 2026 (link)
- Il Giorno / Quotidiano Nazionale – survey data on the share of Italians who support the Milano Cortina 2026 model (link)
- International Olympic Committee – official data on dates, number of athletes, programme and scope of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games (link)
- International Olympic Committee – overview of sustainability, impact and legacy of Milano Cortina 2026 (link)
- Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 / CONI – official presentation of the Italian national team's medals at the Games (link)