With less than one year remaining to the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, preparations are advancing at a brisk pace, as evidenced by record-breaking ticket sales and robust volunteer recruitment.

At a press conference held on Tuesday at the Foreign Press Association in Rome, Andrea Varnier, Chief Executive Officer of the Milano-Cortina Foundation, announced that nearly 300,000 tickets had been sold in just six days since the public ticketing program was launched on February 6.

Varnier revealed that the ticketing platform received over 350,000 requests from around the globe, with 70 percent coming from abroad.

Photo taken on Feb. 6, 2025 shows a board marking the one-year countdown for the Milano-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics and Paralympics nearby the Duomo di Milano in Milan, Italy. (Xinhua/Li Jing)

In parallel, the volunteer recruitment program has exceeded expectations. Initially, the organizers planned to recruit 18,000 volunteers. However, the response has been overwhelming, with 96,000 applications received to date, including a notable number of submissions from China which ranks fourth after Italy, the United States, and France. "This not only reflects the global influence of the Winter Olympics but also indicates that the preparations are progressing with unprecedented enthusiasm," Varnier added.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to be held from February 6 to 22 across multiple venues in Northern Italy, with an expected participation of 3,500 athletes and a global audience reach of 2 billion viewers. The overall ticket sales target is set at 1.5 million. To further broaden the event's impact, the organizing committee has also planned an international roadshow. The Games' project and philosophy will be presented in key cities such as Munich, Paris, New York, and Beijing, with the Beijing tour slated to commence on May 15.

In a related development, the Olympic torch for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games is scheduled to make its first public appearance in April 2025 at the Italy Pavilion during Expo 2025 in Osaka.

The torch will embark on a 63-day journey, traversing 60 UNESCO World Heritage sites across Italy over a distance of 12,000 kilometers, symbolically heralding the forthcoming Games.

Despite these encouraging developments, the Games has also attracted criticism over the perceived "high-end" orientation of some ticketing and hospitality packages. Critics have pointed out that while tickets for certain events such as sledding start at around 40 euros-with luge and bob tickets at 70 and 100 euros respectively-prices for marquee events can reach astronomical figures.

When addressing these concerns, Giovanni Malago, President of the Milano-Cortina Foundation and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), stressed at the press conference that the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is designed as a global sporting event embodying "Olympic diversity."

"Although some premium ticketing and hospitality options command higher prices, we are committed to offering a multi-tiered and diverse ticketing strategy that allows every sport enthusiast to experience the passion and charm of the Winter Games in Italy," Malago stated.