5 billion and 720 million euros, of which 4 billion and 120 million were spent on infrastructure alone. These are the estimated costs of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Record-breaking figures. To understand how much each citizen contributed to the realization of this event, let’s do some quick math. Simplifying, if we approximate the number of Italian taxpayers at 41 million, a simple division shows that each taxpayer paid about €100 (€97.56) for the construction of infrastructure alone, which represents 70% of the total amount.

How much does the country’s economy gain from it?

The estimated economic impact is 319 million euros for the Olympics and 31 million euros for the Paralympics. A small pile of coins compared to the initial spending. After all, it is well known that the Olympics are not a profitable venture for countries. Just think of the 2024 Summer Games where, out of 7 billion invested, the profit was only 75 million (again according to estimates).

And what do citizens gain from it?

After the disastrous creations of the so-called “cathedrals in the desert”, since 2020 the goal of the Olympic Games has been to create a collective legacy. Starting with Tokyo, 118 reforms were introduced to make the Games more flexible, affordable, and sustainable, including plans for the reuse of infrastructure. The aim is to redevelop what already exists and build only what is necessary. The 2026 Winter Olympics have tried to fully follow this approach. Built on the land of the former Scalo Romana railway yard, the Milan Olympic and Paralympic Village was created and is destined to flourish as a university student residence with 1,700 beds. Features such as heat pumps, 1MW photovoltaic panels, and a rainwater recovery system allow the complex to achieve zero emissions. The slopes of Bormio and the facilities of Stelvio have also benefited from renovation. Livigno has been enhanced with five new slopes and the construction of the Snow Park, which later became the hub for freestyle and snowboard disciplines.

However, this intention to give new life to existing infrastructure in the area has not always been followed. As we know, the bobsleigh competitions were held in Cortina d’Ampezzo together with skeleton, luge, and 13 other Olympic disciplines. In particular, it was decided to build the Eugenio Monti track from scratch, which required 118 million euros for its construction. What perhaps not many people know is that a track fully suitable for hosting the Games already existed in Cesana Torinese. Cesana Pariol, the name of the track, had already hosted the same Games 20 years earlier, in 2006, the Bobsleigh World Cup in 2009, and the Luge World Championships in 2011, the last year it was in operation. Why was it not renovated and instead a new structure built? Moreover, in the original plan, used if you will also as a justification for building the new track, it was supposed to host the Italian Championships in bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge in the near future (10–12 March 2026). Instead, due to technical and structural problems, the competitions were canceled. Are the goals and values of the Olympics always followed? Have we created “cathedrals in the desert” or improved infrastructure? Is it still worth hosting the Olympics? Only time will tell whether we have truly reached the Olympic finish line.

Written by Matteo Cairoli and Filippo Canepa