Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi famously said, “You may have the universe if I may have Italy.”
As stands, the universe will now watch as Italy explores a bid for the future Summer Olympic Games, targeting 2036 with 2040 as a fallback, and the concept carries a distinctly modern European flavour.
Rather than centring the Games in a single host, Italian planners are advancing a multi-city model built around Genoa, Milan, and Turin. The approach strikes a balance between practicality and ambition. It offers a distributed Olympic footprint designed to maximize existing strengths while limiting excess.
While the three northern cities are looking at a 2036 and 2040 backup plan, Rome is also considering a bid for the 2040 Summer Games. A single city hosting in a large city has been the model to date. When Vancouver wanted to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the committee was forced to drop the name “Whistler” from the marketing, to centre solely on Vancouver, even though Whistler Mountain was heavily relied on for putting on events.
Italy is no stranger to the Olympic stage. Turin hosted the 2006 Winter Games, and Milano-Cortina 2026 is just around the corner. That continuity has positioned the country with a deep reservoir of organizational expertise and infrastructure readiness. The experience of the two assets increasingly defines successful bids in the International Olympic Committee’s evolving framework.
Dynamic urban system
At the core of the proposal is what proponents describe as a “dynamic urban system” linking the three northern cities. The Genoa–Milan–Turin corridor represents one of Italy’s most economically and culturally significant regions, offering a compact, well-connected stage capable of supporting a Games of global scale.
Critically, much of the heavy lifting may already be done. Existing venues, transport networks, and operational knowledge could reduce both cost and risk. These are key considerations as the IOC continues to push sustainability to the forefront of Olympic planning.
That sustainability lens, environmental and economic, is expected to be central to Italy’s pitch, aligning with the IOC’s Agenda 2020+ priorities and the broader shift away from mega-project excess.
For now, the concept remains in its early phases. Technical assessments and feasibility discussions are underway, with the next step involving coordination between the Italian National Olympic Committee, government bodies, and key sport stakeholders.
If momentum builds, 2036 will be the primary target. If not, Italy appears prepared to play the long game — with 2040 firmly in view.
The joint effort will rely mostly on existing infrastructure.
While the Olympic Games have moved around the planet in some cases, the Games have left white elephants and altered the state of cities. In other cases, some cities have benefited from improved infrastructure, new venues and financial growth.
Rio de Janeiro 2016
For example, the 2016 Rio Olympic Games left several white elephants behind.
Widespread abandonment (2017) could be witnessed just months after the Games. Many venues in the Olympic Park were empty, boarded up, or abandoned, with maintenance costs falling on the federal government.
Unkept promises left original plans to dismantle the Future Arena (handball) and convert it into four schools, and to turn the taekwondo/fencing arena into a school, were delayed or halted.
Specific “White Elephant” venues include the Olympic Park, which was frequently described as a ghost town, and the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, which was abandoned, with its swimming pool filled with stagnant water.
Although many venues struggled to find a post-Games purpose, long-term plans eventually materialized for some, including the conversion of Carioca Arena 3 into a sports education institution by 2024.
Barcelona 1992
Barcelona 1992 (The “Barcelona Model”), on the other hand, left the Spanish city in a better state, post-Games.
For example, an opening to the Sea, where the city transformed its rundown industrial waterfront (Poblenou) into a modern district with sandy beaches, a promenade, and an Olympic Port.
Urban regeneration and some regentrification happened as the Games allowed the city to implement a massive, 40-year urban development plan in just four years, creating new ring roads (Rondas) to reduce traffic congestion.
The long-term impact resulted in Barcelona’s placement on the global tourism map, transforming from a neglected industrial city into one of Europe’s top destinations. Nearly 95 per cent of all permanent venues remain in use.
As for the three-city bid, perhaps English novelist Mary Shelley said it best, “The name of Italy has magic in its very syllables.” Perhaps that magic begins within the polysyllable, “Milan-Genoa-Turin.”
