The Olympic and Paralympic atmosphere embraces the places of Milano Cortina 2026. The Road to 2026 begins, with two winters of major international events that will be held in the city venues and on the mountains that will be the protagonists of the next Games.
From December 28 2024 to January 4 2026, in fact, a busy calendar of test events is scheduled, that is, international and national competitions that will serve to test various organizational aspects, simulating the conditions that will occur during the Olympics (February 6-22, 2026) and Paralympics (March 6-15 , 2026) of Milano Cortina 2026 .
It is a fundamental and essential moment in the path that leads to the Games because it effectively marks the transition from the planning part to the actual operational part, allowing the Organizing Committee team to get up and running in view of the great event of 2026.
The test events are in turn divided into three typologies from an organizational and operational point of view.
Full test events are events entirely organized by the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 , which takes care of every aspect of the event.
This winter, for example, this category includes the final stage of the ISU Short Track World Tour, scheduled at the Assago Forum in Milan from 14 to February 16, 2025, and the FIS World Cup Finals of Aerials, Moguls & Dual Moguls , which will be held in Livigno from March 8 to 14 2025.
The Sport Tests are organized by Milano Cortina 2026, in some cases with the support of the EDE (Event Delivery Entities), territorial entities of excellence that operate in the world of sporting events in the territories that will be the protagonists of the next Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
In these events, some aspects are tested in detail, with particular attention to the homologation of the Field of play (i.e. the perimeter in which the competition takes place).
EDE Events are events already present in international calendars and organized entirely by EDEs, also aimed at refining some operational aspects in places that already have a consolidated tradition in winter sports thanks to the major events (World Cups or World Championships) organized in recent winters.
In this case, Milano Cortina 2026 will support certain functional areas that need to test some specific aspects.
The first example is the Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup in Bormio (December 28-29, 2024), followed by the final stages of the cross-country skiing Tour de Ski in Tesero (January 3-5 , 2025) and the World Cup events in Cortina (January 18-19 with women’s Alpine skiing) and Anterselva (January 23-26 2025 with biathlon).