MILAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) — Sebastian Coe, head of World Athletics and an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, believes the geographically spread-out model used for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is « a good approach. »

Milan-Cortina 2026 is set to be the most spread-out Winter Games in history, with competitions divided into four clusters – the urban hub of Milan and the mountain venues of Cortina, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme.

« I think it’s inevitable in a winter setting. It’s more complicated than a summer setting. But the movement IOC is moving towards – a more regional approach, is part of the vision of the Olympic Agenda 2020, » Coe told Xinhua on Friday. « I think it’s a good approach, although it poses some challenges. »

Under the dispersed hosting model, the Games will cover more than 22,000 square kilometers in northern Italy. A total of 116 events will be held across the four clusters, separated by average distances of more than 250 kilometers, with one-way travel often taking several hours.

Artists perform during the opening ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the San Siro Olympic Stadium in Milan, Italy, Feb. 6, 2026. (Xinhua/Xue Yuge)

Coe also believes the « more regional approach » has already been adopted in some way for the Olympic Summer Games.

« If you look forward to the 2032 Games in Brisbane, the Summer Games, it is also spread-out, » he said. « They would have a regional approach in Queensland. So Brisbane is not the only city to host the events in the way that London was [in 2012]. Of course when you have a football tournament, and you have other sports, it’s likely that they have to be distributed amongst other cities. But Brisbane is really the first of the regional [Summer] Games. And that will face the same challenges too. »

Venues of the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics are planned to be located in three main zones – Brisbane, Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, with regional venues scattered amongst other cities in Queensland also set to stage competitions.

« I think the overall objective is trying to remove cost and make the Games more relevant, salient in the lives of young people, » Coe said. « It’s the challenge that every sport faces. And that’s not unique to the International Olympic Committee. It’s something on a daily basis that we think about and want to address in World Athletics. » ■

Xinhua communément appelée « agence Chine nouvelle », prononcer est la plus grande et la plus ancienne des deux agences de presse nationales chinoises.

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