Milan greets Winter Olympics with mixture of pride and misgivings

MILAN - As Milan welcomed the arrival of the Olympic torch on Thursday, the sense of anticipation for some residents is mixed with a feeling that the Winter Games are a further sign that their city has changed in ways that leave many behind.

Concerns about the disruption to traffic and public transport caused by security measures as well as complaints about school closures and ticket prices temper the pride and excitement Milanese feel at hosting a global event.

"It somehow feels like a soulless display. This city seems to have become all about mega events and its glamorous image," said Massimiliano Reggi, 50, a father of two.

The Milanese are accustomed to periodic invasions of the city for fashion weeks and the Salone del Mobile design fair. Yet many had expected the Olympics to bring more than a welcome influx of visitors and money for the economy.

The Games, co-hosted with Cortina d'Ampezzo in the mountains, open with a ceremony on Friday night at the city's historic San Siro soccer stadium and run until February 22.

Some locals and competitors expect excitement to grow once the Games start in earnest, and are pleased to see the city has been spruced up for the occasion.

'A MISSED OPPORTUNITY'

More visibly marking the Olympic torch's route well in advance, or actively involving more schoolchildren before Friday's shutdowns which are prompting many well-off families to flee for a three-day skiing weekend could have helped build a sense of occasion, said Marina Maniglio, a doctor and mother of two.

"I really feel it's a missed opportunity. I'm disappointed, I was so getting into the Olympic mood," she said.

"I'd thought that, for a change, Milan would give all its kids a chance to live a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but no, once again it has reminded us it's a city for the rich."

A spokesperson for the Milano Cortina organizing committee said that more than two million students across Italy took part in an Olympics-linked education program.

The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals squeezed by soaring living costs as Italy's tax scheme for wealthy new residents, alongside Brexit, drew professionals to the financial capital.

TICKET PRICES A CONCERN

Although organizers say tickets for Olympic events start at 30 euros, many residents say the cheapest seats are hard to come by.

Prices rise sharply for flagship events: seats for the opening ceremony start at 260 euros rising above 2,000 euros for premium categories, while high?profile medal events such as the men's ice hockey final cost several hundred euros.

"We haven't got any tickets for the games, the prices were high and the website confusing," said Erika Bonfanti, a hiking guide, who is instead organizing a trekking excursion on nearby Lake Como as part of the little-known European Week of Winter Sport (WEES).

"More than one fifth of tickets are priced below 40 euros and 57% under 100 euros," the Milano Cortina spokesperson said.

Funded by the European Union and backed by CONI Lombardia, the regional branch of Italy's National Olympic Committee, the WEES is taking place across Europe for a second year on February 1-8 to fight a drop in physical exercise in the colder months.

"All WEES events have to be free," Bonfanti said.

THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT WILL GROW

Athletes expect the Olympic atmosphere to build once the competition really gets going.

"I've been here for less than 24 hours, right now I'm still in a dream kind of state," Canadian figure skater Stephen Gogolev, the 2026 national champion, said after training in Milan on Wednesday.

"It's a bit early, the Olympic spirit among us will grow once things start in earnest," said Italian pair skater Rebecca Ghilardi, with her partner Filippo Ambrosini adding they could not wait for the "warm Italian public."

Milan plans to set up a giant screen at the city's "fan village" meeting place in Piazza del Cannone, next to the Sforzesco Castle, but Maniglio, the doctor, said there should have been many more screening venues as during the opening night of the season at the city's La Scala opera house.

Milan's trademark pragmatism, whereby "something is better than nothing" as an often-quoted saying goes, could still prevail in the coming weeks.

"The Olympics are the Olympics, long live sport," local resident Marida Bianca said. "And just look at how clean everything is. Milan is never this clean."

—Reuters