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2026 Winter Olympics. Time pressure and “emergency mode”
Original The organizational budget of the games assumed expenses of approximately USD 1.3 billion. In practice, according to Reuters, final operating costs increased to over $1.7 billion. Andrea Varnier, the executive director of the games, admits in an interview with Reuters that preparations were not easy.
“We must admit that the costs of the games were higher than expected in the original bid budget.” – he said. Logistical challenges, a tight schedule and the need for quick decisions led to a situation in which the organizing committee had to act, as Varnier points out, “in emergency mode.”
“There were times when the organizing committee had to operate under emergency conditions, and the Milano-Cortina Games were just such a case – with extremely tight deadlines, we worked under constant pressure“- he said.
Additional expenses related to public infrastructure, i.e. modernization of roads, transport and sports facilities available after the Games, reached approximately USD 3.5 billion. The total cost of ZIO 2026, including the committee's operations and state investments, exceeded USD 5 billion, which translates into approximately PLN 24 billion.
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Organization of the 2026 Winter Games. Difficulties in other cities and decline in interest
Although the rights to host Winter Olympics 2026 were ultimately won by the Milan-Cortina bid, several other cities were initially interested, including Calgary in Canada, Sapporo in Japan, Graz in Austria, Erzurum in Turkey and Sion in Switzerland. Most of them ultimately gave up or did not complete the formal application, mainly due to the increasing costs and financial risks associated with organizing such an event. It is clear to the naked eye that fewer and fewer cities decide to run for Olympic hosts.
This phenomenon forces the International Olympic Committee to look for ways to reduce costs and simplify procedures, including: by greater use of existing infrastructure or joint offers of several cities. At the same time, it shows that rising costs are an increasingly serious barrier that may change the model of organizing the Games in the future. Here, the advantage of Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo was clear – they mainly used already ready infrastructure and facilities, which allowed for significant cost reductions.
The Russian Games were the most expensive. Compared to them, Milan 2026 is a cheap event
Comparing the expenses of the upcoming Olympics with previous editions, differences in the scale of investments are clearly visible. The event in Sochi, Russia in 2014 remains the absolute record holder in terms of costs, reaching approximately USD 50 billion. Pyeongchang, South Korea, spent about $13 billion on the 2018 games. and China's Beijing in 2022 – USD 14 billion. In this context, Milano-Cortina 2026, despite the increase in costs during preparations, can be considered one of the most economical editions in the history of the modern Winter Olympic Games.
These differences show how much the costs of ZIO depend on the scale of infrastructure investments and local conditions. Sochi practically required the construction of the entire infrastructure from scratch, Beijing and Pyeongchang invested mainly in sports facilities and transport, and the organizers of Milano-Cortina could use the existing sports base and mountain terrain.
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Will Milan show the way? Italians can make a lot of money from the Olympics
An analysis of the costs of the Milano-Cortina Olympic Games shows that even relatively “small” games require a lot of financing and logistical discipline. Operating budget increase by 30%. compared to the original plan shows that time pressure and unforeseen circumstances can significantly increase expenses, which may further deter cities from bidding to host future events.
This is a valuable lesson for Olympic organizers: investing in public infrastructure, contingency planning and realistic budgets are key to avoiding unexpected costs. At the same time, Winter Olympics 2026 prove that a well-planned event can be relatively “economical” even with enormous logistical and media requirements – especially when much of the arenas and infrastructure are already ready.
“Preparations were carried out in emergency mode, but thanks to the commitment of the entire team, we managed to organize the Games that will remain in the memory of participants and viewers for a long time,” Andrea Varnier summed up for Reuters.
It is worth adding, however, that this year's games may earn record amounts, all thanks to tourists. As we wrote in Business Insider Polska, the organizers estimate that the profits may exceed EUR 5 billion. Thanks to limited financing and budget and record profits, there are many indications that these may be the highest-grossing Winter Games in history.
