Gold, Tear Gas, and a $3.5 Billion Bill: The Milan-Cortina Olympics Are Here

The 25th Winter Olympic Games are underway in northern Italy, and the first few days have delivered exactly the kind of spectacle the event demands — just not always the kind the organizers had in mind.

A ceremony like no other

The opening ceremony on February 6 broke new ground as the first in Winter Olympics history to unfold across multiple cities simultaneously . Athletes paraded through four locations — Milan, Livigno, Predazzo, and Cortina d'Ampezzo — entering at the sites closest to where they'll compete . At San Siro, the 75,000-seat football cathedral hosted the main event, with Andrea Bocelli performing "Nessun Dorma" and pianist Lang Lang joining mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli and the children's choir of La Scala for the Olympic Hymn.

Around 2,900 athletes from more than 90 countries are competing for 116 medals across 16 days, with 47 percent of competitors being women . The Games also mark the debut of ski mountaineering as an Olympic sport .

Early drama on the slopes

The sporting action has been intense from the start. On Day 1, Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida set a new Olympic record in the women's speed skating 3,000m, while Swiss newcomer Franjo von Allmen stunned the field to win men's downhill gold on his Olympic debut.

Day 2 brought the moment that will define these Games' early narrative. American Lindsey Vonn, attempting a fairytale Olympic comeback at 41, crashed violently just 13 seconds into the women's downhill. She was airlifted by helicopter and underwent emergency surgery for a leg fracture. Her teammate Breezy Johnson went on to claim gold by four hundredths of a second over Germany's Emma Aicher — the first US medal of these Games.

The figure skating team event delivered the second American gold, with Ilia Malinin powering Team USA past Japan. Norway, meanwhile, has surged to the top of the medal table with three golds and six total medals through the first few days.

The $3.5 billion question

Behind the sporting drama, a familiar Olympic tension is playing out. The estimated budget for the Games is north of $3.5 billion . The new ice hockey arena in Milan and a new ice rink in Cortina were both finished just in time . The IOC had suggested moving sliding events to Switzerland to reduce costs, but local pride won out — only for the plan to rebuild Cortina's historic bobsled track to be abandoned anyway when costs spiraled out of control .

"Quite frankly, this is inexcusable, especially for something like a multi-purpose arena," economist Victor Matheson of the College of the Holy Cross told DW . "If you don't already have facilities in place, like a major indoor venue that can be used for hockey, you probably shouldn't be bidding for the Olympics in the first place."

The IOC committed $925 million to the Milan-Cortina organizing effort , but the wider question of whether hosting a Winter Olympics is financially sustainable has rarely felt more urgent. According to official figures, the 2022 Beijing Games cost €3.3 billion, but researchers at Oxford University calculated the true figure was more than double that — €7.33 billion .

"Local citizens and taxpayers have said again and again that while the Olympics are fun events, they don't necessarily want to get stuck paying for someone else's party," Matheson said .

Protests and political friction

The financial tensions have spilled into the streets. On opening day, protesters and police clashed in Milan over what demonstrators called an unsustainable use of public funds. Italian police deployed tear gas to disperse crowds in the Corvetto neighbourhood.

A separate diplomatic flashpoint emerged over the announced presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at the Games . Italian officials publicly objected, and hundreds marched in Milan against both the ICE deployment and the agency's deportation operations in the United States. The US ambassador to Italy sought to defuse the row, saying ICE officers would operate "only in an advisory and intelligence capacity, without patrolling or enforcement measures" .

What comes next

The Games run through February 22, when the closing ceremony will be held at the ancient Verona Arena . The second week promises marquee events in biathlon, cross-country skiing, and the new ski mountaineering discipline. Whether Milan-Cortina will be remembered for sporting achievement or as another cautionary tale about Olympic excess may depend on which storyline the next two weeks choose to write.