I’ve been digging into the numbers behind the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, and from a pure business‑of‑sport perspective these Games are shaping up to be one of the most compelling stories we have seen in years. After Beijing’s eerily empty post-covid stadiums in 2022, PyeongChang’s modest commercial footprint in 2018, and the eye‑watering $51 billion spectacle of Sochi 2014, the Winter Olympics are back in a major European market. The question I keep coming back to is this: can the momentum from a blockbuster Paris 2024 carry into the snow, not just in North America but across Europe, Asia and beyond?

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Let's start with the money, because the headline numbers are striking. The operating budget has swelled from an original bid estimate of roughly $1.3 billion to about $1.7–$1.9 billion. On top of that sits €3.5 billion in public infrastructure spending, including around €118 million to renovate the Cortina sliding centre and approximately €300 million for the new PalaItalia Santa Giulia ice hockey arena in Milan. Oxford research shows Winter Olympics almost always run 156% over budget, and Milano Cortina has not broken that pattern.

However, over 90% of competition venues are either pre‑existing or temporary, echoing the approach that worked so well for Paris 2024, and the IOC itself is injecting roughly $1 billion in funding and services. That is a genuine structural shift. The days of host cities silently absorbing almost all the financial risk are changing, and I think that is a story worth watching closely.

I have spent a lot of time going through the sponsorship landscape, and the IOC's TOP programme is in a real period of transition. Five major partners, Toyota, Panasonic, Bridgestone, Intel and Atos, all walked away after Paris 2024. Most are Japanese or tech‑driven brands that had capitalised on the run of Asian‑hosted Games, and their departure has been felt. TOP revenue for the current year dropped to $560 million, the lowest since 2020 and well below the roughly $872 million recorded in the Paris cycle. The programme now has 11 worldwide partners, its smallest roster in roughly a decade.

New entrants such as TCL, an extended commitment from AB InBev and Allianz, and renewed deals with long‑standing partners partly plug the gap, but the numbers are a reminder that even the Olympics have to work harder for global brand money. Domestically, the organising committee targeted around €550 million in sponsorship revenue across four tiers, and they have assembled a strong Italian roster: Enel, Eni, Stellantis (with Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Maserati in the fleet), Poste Italiane, Intesa Sanpaolo and Leonardo, among others, with roughly 40 local and national deals in place. Ampere Analysis estimates total Milano Cortina sponsorship revenue at about €580 million.

What excites me most is the evolving nature of these partnerships. Uber, for example, is not just attaching a logo to signage; its technology is being integrated directly into the transport network linking venues, and payments partners are being woven into the event’s transaction layer. That blend of commercial partner and operational infrastructure feels like the future of Olympic sponsorship to me.

If there is one set of numbers that shows where the commercial confidence sits, it is in media rights across regions. In Europe, the IOC has sold rights for 2026 to 2032 to a joint venture between the European Broadcasting Union and Warner Bros Discovery, meaning public‑service broadcasters such as the BBC, ARD/ZDF, France Télévisions and RAI carry extensive free‑to‑air coverage while Eurosport and Discovery+ deliver broader live and on‑demand content. That mix of reach and pay‑TV depth is a very European solution.

Globally, the Winter Games still command a huge footprint. NBCUniversal remains the key partner in the United States, having already reported a sell‑out of its ad inventory for Milano Cortina with record Winter Games revenue. In Canada the Games are with CBC/Radio‑Canada, in Australia with Nine and Stan, while across Asia there is a mosaic of partners including JTBC in Korea and a set of broadcasters and platforms in South and Southeast Asia brokered through agencies such as Infront. The Middle East and North Africa are covered by broadcasters such as beIN, and rights in markets like India and China continue to combine pay‑TV with streaming‑first approaches.

What really caught my eye is how strongly digital is now driving strategy. European and Asian broadcasters are using these Games to push streaming apps, personalised feeds and multi‑screen viewing, turning the Olympics into both a content event and a subscriber‑acquisition campaign. It is no longer just about who has the prime‑time linear slot in one market; it is about who can own fans’ attention in multiple territories and on multiple devices.

I have been particularly impressed by the projected economic impact numbers for Italy. Banca Ifis and other studies estimate a total impact in the region of €5.3 billion, with around €1.1 billion in direct Games‑time spending, about €1.2 billion in additional tourism within 12 to 18 months, and roughly €3 billion in longer‑term infrastructure and legacy effects across Lombardy and the Veneto. Organisers are talking about approximately 2.5 million spectators across the fortnight and a global broadcast audience in the billions.

On the ticketing side, more than one million tickets have already been sold from an allocation of about 1.5 million. Over half of those are priced below €100, with entry points around €30 to keep the Games accessible for families, while the premium end of the market sits with ice hockey finals and flagship Alpine events, where hospitality and top‑category seats can reach several hundred euro. International demand has been particularly strong from nearby European markets as well as North America and Asia, supporting the strategy to spread visitors between Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Bormio and other mountain hubs.

I cannot write about these Games without flagging what I think is the biggest on‑ice storyline with serious commercial implications worldwide: NHL players are back at the Olympics for the first time since Sochi 2014. The agreement finalised in 2025 between the NHL, NHLPA, IIHF and IOC is a genuine landmark, restoring a best‑on‑best men’s ice hockey tournament that matters in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, North America and parts of Asia.

Add to that the presence of 61 Professional Women’s Hockey League players representing their nations and you have a sport that offers rights‑holders and sponsors a strong, gender‑balanced narrative. For anyone working in sports media or commercial strategy, this shifts the Winter Games’ audience proposition quite significantly. Ice hockey suddenly becomes a must‑watch property again across several time zones.

Here is my bigger takeaway. Milano Cortina 2026 is a test of the Winter Olympics as a global commercial property, not just a European or American one. The IOC putting in its own capital, the gradual loosening of clean‑venue rules to give sponsors more visibility, and the move toward venue naming rights at future Games all signal a movement that is rethinking how it generates and shares revenue.

The next three Winter Games, in the French Alps in 2030, Salt Lake City in 2034 and a likely Swiss edition in 2038, are all in traditional winter sport regions with existing infrastructure. That suggests the IOC is prioritising reliability and cost control over breaking new ground. At the same time, climate research highlighted by the World Economic Forum warns that by 2040 only a small group of countries will have reliable conditions to stage snow‑based events. That is a global challenge, not a regional one.

For now, though, the numbers paint a largely positive picture. Strong media rights income across continents, a €5.3 billion economic footprint for Italy, a sponsorship scene that is adapting rather than collapsing, NHL stars back on Olympic ice and a digital‑first broadcast strategy that genuinely feels global rather than centred on one market. I will be watching every angle of this closely, and I would encourage you to do the same.

Before I hand you over to the schedule, here are some Winter Olympics nuggets I came across that are too good not to share:

We're five days into competition and the standings are already fascinating. Norway lead the way with 12 medals (6 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze), with host nation Italy in second on 11 medals overall, powered by seven bronzes. Japan, the United States, Sweden, and Germany are all tightly packed behind them.

If you're planning your viewing, here are the events I'd circle for the rest of the Games:

The men's ice hockey tournament, with full NHL rosters for the first time in 12 years, is the one I'd build your week around. The knockout rounds start mid-Games and the gold medal final on the last day in Milan should be something special.

Enjoy the Games. I'll be tracking all of the business angles as they develop.