What are the venue investment costs for Milano-Cortina 2026?

The evidence collected from SIMICO (Società Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2026) revealed the costs, locations, and development timelines for the competition venues and their infrastructures until December 2025. The costs of the Olympics have grown exponentially, with an increase of many billions of euros compared to the initial forecasts. Most of the expenses concern transport infrastructure works - roads, railways, and airports - many of which risk not being completed in time for the Games. The dataset we gathered unveiled some critical issues that arose during the research process. There is a fragmentation of informations available publicly on separate platforms, incomplete or non-reachable data, or published irregularly.

Instead of marking a positive and lasting impact, it risks worsening existing problems, generating a very heavy economic and environmental impact. Leaving us with still one pending question:

What does remain after the Olympic Games spotlight fades?

How much money is 5.7 billion?

Using the height of a staircase as a reference, we turn abstract numbers into a physical experience. Visitors climb step by step through the investments made for Milano–Cortina 2026. Each stair represents the money spent per year since the bid in 2019, allowing visitors to feel the growing scale of public expenditure with their own bodies. By linking financial growth to physical effort, the installation invites reflection on the magnitude – and persistence – of these investments. At the top, the project leaves an open question:

"When will the finish line of these ongoing costs be reached?"

SIMICO (Società Infrastrutture Milano Cortina 2026)
Press Office Bolzano & Trient
MIT (Ministero delle Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti)
CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano)
Nevediversa 2025 – Legambiente