Jannik Sinner’s first Olympics will be the winter one in Milan-Cortina 2026, after all, as a young man he was a promising skier before becoming the world number 1 in tennis. Having missed out on participation in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, the Italian champion, passionate about winter sports, will in fact be the number one of the approximately 20 thousand volunteers who will be committed to organizing the event. Not only that, the South Tyrolean tennis player who occupies the first position in the world ranking in a 2024 that saw him triumph in two of the four seasonal slams, the Australian Open and the US Open, is also an ambassador for Team 26, the program dedicated to the volunteers of Milan-Cortina 2026, whose presentation is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, in Milan.
A confirmation of the tennis player’s attachment to the national sports movement, already shown as a ‘fan’ for his teammates in the Davis Cup, but also of the importance of the role of the volunteer for the Games. The IOC has long considered one of the most important legacies of the world’s largest sporting event, as was also seen in the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, where 45 thousand people were involved and gave their basic contribution. The numbers of the next winter edition of the Olympics that will be hosted in less than a year and a half in Italy will obviously be lower, but with an identical enthusiasm and commitment. Quite simply, the Olympics could not take place without volunteers and the magic of the Games also owes a lot to the people, women and men, young and old, who choose to donate their time to such an important and special project.
Sinner’s name and example, in addition to his passion for winter sports, will be a further reason for aspiring volunteers to get involved, representing a winning Italy, a sport that in recent years has grown enormously in global interest and following and also a territory that has given birth to many Italian champions.
The start of the volunteer recruitment activity is one of the steps that will mark the next few months in the path towards the event, followed by the start of the ticketing activity, which will begin soon for the business sector. The sale of tickets to the public will begin between March and April, after the fateful date of February 6, exactly one year after the opening ceremony and in conjunction with the unveiling of the Olympic torch, which will take place in mid-April in the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka. The Olympic Foundation, president Giovanni Malagò, is now marching quickly to make up for lost time. Two important sponsors have arrived (Tim and Enel, around 40 million each), another will arrive next week and another in October. The budget will be closed in March 2027, one year after the Games: it is difficult to make predictions, but any “red” would be covered by the government, which will now have to intervene with new funds for the Palasport Santa Giulia in Milan as requested by Mayor Sala.
Furthermore, the Decisional Services Conference regarding the interventions to improve the accessibility of the Verona Arena and the redevelopment of the accesses was held today in telematic mode. The famous amphitheater was chosen as the closing venue of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and will be the opening venue of the Paralympic Games. It was therefore necessary to ensure that this heritage is accessible to all, designing adaptation interventions that allow usability and accessibility for people with disabilities. During the meeting, the project for the adaptation of the external and internal routes of the Arena was presented to make it compliant with the Architectural Barrier Elimination Plan through the insertion of walkways. The accessibility project of the main roads used to reach Piazza Bra from the car parks and the station was also made known, also through an improvement of the urban layout of the routes themselves.
“The attention paid to the Verona Arena project is part of a broader vision of civilization: it is not just an improvement project, but a social commitment to inclusiveness,” said Simico CEO, architect Fabio Saldini. “The projects will not only concern the monument, but also the roads to reach it, with particular attention to the technologies and measures that will make Verona a city without barriers. The Games, a symbol of inclusiveness, become the driving force of accessibility to the city for all those who live and visit it.”
Champions on Sky, great start: ratings above one million for Juve and Milan
Great start for the new UEFA Champions League in Sky’s Casa dello Sport, with the first exclusive Tuesday obtaining a total audience of 2 million 700 thousand cumulative viewers, ratings above one million for the two Italian teams and a record of around 650 thousand viewers for the post-match: it is the best Tuesday of the last three years on Sky Sport. In particular, Juventus-PSV, from 6 pm, on Sky Sport Uno, Sky Sport 252 and Sky Sport 4K, collected a total audience of 1 million 122 thousand average viewers, with 2 million 259 thousand unique viewers and 6.2% TV share. Following, Milan-Liverpool, from 9 pm on the same channels, was watched on average in total audience by 1 million 196 thousand total viewers and 2 million 470 thousand unique viewers, with 5.3% TV share. At the same time, Diretta Gol was followed in total audience by 219 thousand average total viewers. Both Italian teams enter the top 5 of the best ratings of the top European competition obtained in the last 3 years. Top ratings in total audience also for the studies conducted by Federica Masolin, with the comments of the great Sky Sport talents: the post-match at 11 pm gathered in front of the TV a good 643 thousand average viewers overall.
#MilanCortina #Jannik #Sinner #volunteer
– 2024-09-19 01:15:01
