Olympic Games 2036 - Rome again?

The successful Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics sparked a surge of national pride as pre-Games skepticism gave way to nationwide celebration. Flags appeared on balconies. Athletes became heroes. Italy raked in medals.

For Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government, the Games offered a timely opportunity to project organizational nous and international soft power. The prime minister said the event had “displayed an image of beauty and competence to the world which has bestowed prestige upon the entire nation.”

Almost as soon as the final medals were awarded, attention turned to a possible Summer Games in Rome in 2036 or 2040, despite a broader trend of countries declining to bid for the Olympics amid astronomical costs.

Hosting the Summer Games is “a dream that we are all silently harboring,” Sports Minister Andrea Abodi admitted to reporters in Cortina.

In 2016, Rome withdrew from the race to host the 2024 Summer Olympics due to concerns over debt and cost overruns. But Giovanni Malagò, head of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee, said the success of the Winter Games could “certainly” reopen Rome’s candidacy.

It is premature to discuss it, Malagò said, “but Rome has two advantages, a unique history also as an Olympic city and extraordinary sports structures such as the Olympic Stadium.” Rome hosted the Olympics in 1960.

Luciano Buonfiglio, president of the national Olympic Committee, said that Italy should capitalize on the Milan-Cortina momentum. “At a moment when we have international credibility, it is possible to build a strong bid,” he told Italian radio.

The prospect is already rippling through domestic politics. Carlo Calenda, leader of the centrist Azione party, told POLITICO the Olympics would be “a positive thing” for Rome and could provide direction for the city’s development. While Rome still struggles with traffic and waste management, Calenda argued that hosting the Games would help long-term planning.

The issue could electrify Rome’s 2027 mayoral race. Current Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told POLITICO the Games would give continuity to the transformation underway in the capital. “I am ready to do my part,” he said.

Supporters such as Alessandro Onorato, Rome’s city councillor for sports and large events, are already sketching the imagery: athletes rowing on the Tiber, marathon runners finishing under Rome’s triumphal arches and fencers darting “in the shadow of the Colosseum,” while others such as former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi have piled in to pitch alternative host cities such as Florence and Venice.

The appeal for Italy is obvious.

The Olympics provide “an ideal space for PR,” said analyst Leo Goretti, from the think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali.

If the country delivers both organizationally and competitively, “these events can bolster [the] image of political leaders. Unless there is a major accident they inevitably end up providing a positive platform,” he added.

The renewed ambition comes on the back of a largely glitch-free Games. Italy finished third behind Norway and the U.S., collecting 30 medals and underscoring a sharp contrast with its traditional sporting standard-bearer — the men’s football team — which has missed two consecutive World Cups and faces the prospect of failing to qualify for a third.

For a country that often maligns itself as chaotic and dysfunctional, Milan-Cortina demonstrated that Italy can run complex global events and do so successfully.

But the afterglow of hosting an Olympics fades quickly. A bid for 2036 or 2040 would face fierce competition from emerging economies — and, crucially, questions about costs would quickly resurface. The long-term return on infrastructure investment remains uncertain, Goretti said.

The Winter Olympics showed that Italy can command the global stage. But whether the confidence boost can translate into another successful bid is a harder test.

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