IOC may move Winter Games to January to get more snow

MILAN – Future editions of the Winter Games could be moved to January from their current February slot in order to benefit from more snow and colder weather, as climate change is forcing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to review all aspects of its winter sports bonanza.

The IOC is also considering the move in order to allow the Paralympics, which traditionally follow the Olympics by a few weeks, to be held in February, instead of their current slot in March.

“We are discussing to bring the Winter Olympics a little bit earlier to do it in January because it has an implication for the Paralympics as well,” Karl Stoss, who heads the IOC’s Olympic Programme Working Group, said on Feb 4.

“The Paralympics are now in March and this is very late because the sun is strong enough to melt the snow.

“So maybe the Paralympics will be in February and the other (Winter Olympics) edition will be in January.”

The last time the Winter Olympics started in January was 62 years ago, at the 1964 Innsbruck Games which opened on Jan 29.

With temperatures rising across the globe, natural snow is becoming less plentiful in some regions and water availability for snow-making is falling as a result of climate change, putting the snow sport industry at risk.

By 2040, only 10 nations will be able to host the snow sports of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to an IOC study.

The 2022 Beijing Games became the first Winter Olympics to use virtually 100 per cent artificial snow by deploying more than 100 snow generators and 300 snow-making guns working flat out to cover the ski slopes.

The IOC is also considering introducing traditional summer sports into the Winter Olympics in order to boost popularity and generate revenues.

“We are reviewing the size of the Games, the mix of sports, options for new additions,” Stoss told an IOC session earlier on Feb 4.

“We also look at potential crossover between summer and winter sports.”

Running and cycling disciplines are often mentioned as likely candidates.

Meanwhile, environmental group Greenpeace staged a protest in front of Milan’s main cathedral on Feb 5, the day the Olympic torch arrived in the city co-hosting the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games.

An installation depicted the Olympic rings dripping black oil, a visual denunciation of companies it accuses of contributing to global warming and threatening winter sports dependent on cold conditions.

“Kick polluters out of the Games,” read one of the banners in front of Duomo di Milano.

Greenpeace, which has filed a climate-change lawsuit against Eni, has urged the Milano-Cortina organisers to cut ties with the Italian energy major. It argues that Eni’s fossil-fuel operations undermine efforts to safeguard snow-based sports as temperatures rise.

In other news, the IOC is hoping the Games’ opening ceremony on Feb 6 will not be marred by jeers against Americans and will be a show of respect for athletes from around the world.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are expected at the San Siro stadium.

There are concerns spectators could boo them or the American team, with the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents a source of anger in Italy.

ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations division will back up the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service at the Feb 6-22 Winter Olympics.

ICE and Border Patrol agents have come under heavy criticism in the US over their enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, and recent news ICE would be operating at the Games caused anger in Italy and led to protests.

“I hope that the opening ceremony is seen by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other,” IOC president Kirsty Coventry told a press conference.

“When we went to the (Olympic) village, that is the best reminder of how we should be. You see athletes from every walk of life. No one is asking what country they come from or what religion. They are just hanging out.

“I hope that the opening ceremony will be a reminder for everyone how we could be.” REUTERS, AFP