by sportswriters Li Chunyu and Ji Ye

BEIJING, June 27 (Xinhua) -- With just over 220 days remaining until the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Andrea Varnier, CEO of the Games' organizing committee, expressed confidence in preparations following recent test events during an interview with Xinhua.

"We are under a lot of pressure. There are still a lot of things to do, but we are happy with what we have done," Varnier said.

According to organizers, Milan-Cortina 2026 is relying heavily on existing sports infrastructure. "All the venues are existing. We didn't build new ones in places where nobody will use them afterward," Varnier said. "We did a lot of works in technology to renovate venues where already hosted world events and tried to make them more modern and contemporary."

Speaking about the sliding center, Varnier noted, "The track is finished, which is a very challenging one, but also innovative and sustainable. Now, they are building the surroundings. The final obligation will happen in October. We will have testing events and training sessions throughout the end of the year. Then, we will take it over and prepare for the Games."

Climate change has presented challenges, especially for snow events. "We would love to have natural snow all around the Dolomites. But in the worst case, we can guarantee a fantastic field for athletes in the mountains with modern snow-making facilities. We are also developing a new system to collect a lot of snow from previous seasons, keep it throughout the summer and then use [it]," Varnier said.

Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut at Milan-Cortina 2026. Varnier called the sport fun to watch and noted its surge in popularity across Europe. At the Games, ski mountaineering will feature men's and women's sprint races and a mixed relay, with three gold medals on offer.

As of June 2025, nearly half of the 1.5 million tickets available have already been sold. Varnier expects a boost in sales in the second half of the year. "About 25 percent of the tickets sold until now are from Italy, and the countries after are Germany, America, and also China of course," he said.

"There is a large Chinese community in Italy with a lot of enthusiasm during the testing events. We had the [2024-2025 ISU] Short Track World Tour in Milan, and there was full of Chinese," Varnier added. "I think it's a perfect choice for Chinese fans to watch short track, figure skating, speed skating, and hockey in Milan. I also know China is very strong in freestyle skiing."

Several Chinese brands will be represented as top sponsors at Milan-Cortina 2026. "TCL just joined the Olympic Games, and Alibaba helped us in developing fundamental applications for the Games. We are doing a lot of work with them," said Varnier.

Earlier this week, at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry officially succeeded Thomas Bach as IOC president. The 41-year-old former Olympic swimming champion is the first woman and first African to lead the global sports body in its 131-year history.

"I never had a doubt that she [Coventry] will be interested in and passionate about our Games. I think she will come back very soon to Italy and visit the venues. We are very proud that the first Games after her presidency will be our Games," said Varnier. Enditem