The Santa Giulia hockey arena, where matches of the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy are to be held, will be completed before the start of the competition, said Christophe Dubi, executive director of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Earlier in January, a test match at the arena was stopped due to serious problems with the ice. The meeting, in which the Kaltern and Varese teams took part, had to be interrupted when a hole appeared in the ice. The arena staff doused her with water.

— Is there anything to work on? Yes, a lot. I’m not a construction expert, but this is not a difficult job, so everything regarding the systems, especially cooling, power supply, timing, scoring, is all in order. Cameras, I saw them. We have excellent lighting. There are still a lot of finishing touches left, right?

Some preparatory work is needed. They employ a lot of people. Everything will be ready, no doubt. Half of the locker rooms are ready, the other half will be completed in the coming days. When the competition starts, everything will be fine, no problem.

I take my hat off to everyone who was able to create such an object in such a short time. As you know, this has always been a difficult project. It started late, but this is where we talk about the goals of creating the best conditions for the Games for athletes. This means everything is assembled. 1,600 workers a day work at the site to prepare it. We held a test event, which the NHL also liked in terms of ice quality, which is a priority for us. As for everything else, we’ll go there on Friday. We will be ready to host the best athletes,” Dubey said while talking to reporters.

The women’s Olympic hockey tournament starts on February 5, the men’s on February 11.

The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, said that the geopolitical ambitions of the United States are not the organization’s area of ​​responsibility.

Previously, US President Donald Trump spoke about the need to take control of Greenland for strategic purposes.

— We always keep our finger on the pulse of world events. We know what is being discussed in the world of politics, what is happening. But we are a sports organization – this is not our area of ​​responsibility for commenting. Our task is for all national Olympic committees to work together.

As for the USA: we have not had any negotiations with the White House. We have seen a formal statement from President Trump’s team. He announced who will represent him at the Games. And we are waiting for them in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Negotiations with the organizers of the 2028 Games in Los Angeles are going well. And everyone is moving in the right direction, in a positive mood,” Coventry said during a conversation with reporters.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expects about 2,900 athletes to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, IOC head Kirsty Coventry said.

— We are expecting about 2,900 athletes from more than 90 national Olympic committees. “This will be the most gender-balanced Olympics,” Coventry said during a conversation with reporters.

The 2026 Olympic Games will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6 to 22. Russian athletes will perform at the Olympics in a neutral status.