2026 Olympics: The Games Nobody Could Afford to Cancel
Summary
The Big Question: What is Happening in 2026?
The 2026 Winter Olympics are happening in Italy in two cities at the same time.
This is the first time ever.
One city is Milan, which is huge and famous.
The other is Cortina, which is tiny and has mountains.
The two cities are so far apart that it takes 5 hours to drive between them. Think of it like hosting the Super Bowl in both Los Angeles and Denver on the same day.
Ice skating and hockey happen in Milan. Skiing and bobsled happen in Cortina.
Why two Cities?
Because building everything new for the Olympics costs billions of dollars and creates pollution.
Italy said: "We already have good buildings in two places. Let us use them."
The International Olympic Committee liked this idea because it was cheaper and less wasteful. It made sense on paper.
The Biggest Problems
Russia
Russia wants to send athletes, but the International Olympic Committee said "No," because Russia invaded Ukraine.
But then they changed their minds and said only 5 Russian athletes can compete if they do not wear the Russian flag or sing the Russian anthem.
They compete as people with no country.
Ukraine said this is wrong.
Russia thinks it is insulting. The Olympics tried to make everyone happy. Nobody is happy.
American Security Agents
The United States sent security agents called ICE to Italy. ICE agents arrest undocumented immigrants in America. Recently, they killed people. Italians said: "We do not want ICE in our country." Thousands of people protested. They made signs saying "ICE OUT." After lots of fighting, both sides agreed that ICE agents would just give information and not arrest anybody.
Corruption
Officials in Milan and Cortina stole money meant for the Olympics.
Prosecutors are investigating 74 people, including the mayors.
Some criminals tried to bribe officials to get construction contracts.
People are angry about wasted money.
Climate and Pollution
The Olympics will use 250 million gallons of water to make artificial snow.
It will create 930,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide—the pollution that causes global warming.
The Olympics said they are "green," but experts say that is not true. It is like claiming a huge burger is healthy because it has lettuce on it.
Getting Around: It is very hard to travel between Milan and Cortina. Buses take hours. In winter, roads are dangerous. Thousands of people will be traveling on these mountain roads. Traffic will be terrible. People will miss events because travel takes too long.
The Simple Story
Everybody Compromised
Russia did not get what it wanted. Ukraine did not get what it wanted. Italy did not get what it wanted. The environment got hurt anyway. American security agents are there anyway.
Corruption happened anyway. The Olympics is happening anyway because nobody wanted to fight hard enough to stop it.
It is like 5 people wanting to make dinner together: 1 person wants Italian food, 1 wants Chinese food, 1 wants American food, 1 wants nothing spicy, and 1 wants something cheap.
After arguing, they pick something nobody really wants. But they eat it becausefighting took too much energy.
The Olympics in 2026 will happen.
Athletes will compete. People will watch on television. Then everyone will go home, and the same problems will still exist.
Russia and Ukraine will still be at war. Climate change will still be getting worse.
Corruption will still happen. The Olympics did not solve anything. But nobody had to fight during the Games. That is called compromise.



