For the first time in Olympic history, two cities are jointly hosting the Games: Cortina d'Ampezzo, a pretty ski resort in Italy’s spectacular Dolomites, and Milan, the country’s second largest city, 410km away. This will be Cortina’s second time hosting the Winter Games, after its successful event 70 years ago in 1956. It will be the first time Milan has ever hosted the Games. But how are host cities actually chosen and who is eligible?
Initially there were six other cities in the running: Stockholm-Åre, Sweden; Calgary, Canada; Graz, Austria; Erzurum, Turkey; Sapporo, Japan; and Sion, Switzerland. In June 2019, at the 134th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Lausanne, IOC members voted to elect Milan-Cortina as the host cities for the 2026 Winter Games. The two were declared the winning bid with 47 votes and runner up Stockholm-Åre received 34 votes.
As part of its Agenda 2020 reforms in 2014, the IOC replaced its traditional system of cities tendering bids with a new approach based on targeted invitations to host the 2024 Games. Before these reforms, the bidding system was highly competitive as it involved numerous cities putting their names forward via their National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
