From the stunning mountain scenery in Italy to the stylish city hub of Milan, the contrast from the COVID-affected Winter Olympics in Beijing could hardly be more stark.
The Milan-Cortina Games mark a return to the European alps for the first time in 20 years, since Italy coincidentally hosted the previous Olympics in the region of Torino in 2006.
After the tight restrictions of the Chinese COVID bubble, which one athlete then described as a "sports prison", the IOC are counting on Italy bringing the "joy" back, just as Paris did for the Summer Olympics.