The legacy of the Olympics, an opportunity for growth and social development

What will be the cultural and economic legacy of Milan Cortina 2026? Will the widespread Winter Olympics leave only the memory of so many medals and a surge in revenues for the territories involved, or will they instead be a sporting, cultural, economic and social turning point? The Università Statale di Milano, in partnership with Il Sole 24 Ore, proposes on Thursday 19 February an interesting moment of institutional (mayor Giuseppe Sala, Lombardy's president Attilio Fontana, Veneto's colleague Alberto Stefani, Luciano Bonfiglio - president of Coni - Giovanni Malagò, president of the Milan-Cortina Foundation), professional (sports law and sports taxation) and economic (energy, pharmaceuticals, online piracy, sport and disability) debate. The opening of the works, in the Aula Magna of via Festa del Perdono, will be at 10.30 am with Marina Brambilla, Rector, the Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, and the director of Il Sole 24 Ore, Fabio Tamburini.

The benefits of the Olympics also invest the intangible infrastructures that multiply them for the benefit of the entire nation. One component of these infrastructures are the organisations, entities and enterprises that see the human capital they need to improve and grow increase. An equally important role is played by the administrative and regulatory actions that govern them. The legacy of the Olympics and Para-Olympics of Milan Cortina 2026 will also be measured in the progress they will have made on the rules and disciplines of the activities, sporting and economic, concerned.

During the preparation in the candidature for the 2026 edition, the conditions for the reform of sport and sports work matured, prepared by the then Undersecretary with responsibility for sport, Giancarlo Giorgetti, now head of the Mef. When it became clear in the spring of 2019 that a direct involvement of the government would be essential for the success of the bid, Coni gave the go-ahead for the adoption of the delegated law for the reform, followed by the five implementing decrees, the last of which precisely on safety in the winter sports disciplines. The result is a reform of professional and amateur sports work, which has important effects on the taxation of sports bodies and athletes. The analysis of the economic fallout of an event such as the Olympics ultimately provides elements of judgement for deciding the line of development of a city and an area, and for ensuring that material progress benefits everyone and not the few.