What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to the 2026 Olympics?

116 medal decisions at these Winter Games meant 116 Olympic champions, but also at least 116 stories that were not decorated by gold, silver or bronze. The fall of Lindsey Vonn. The political farce surrounding the “Helmet Ukrainian”. The many symbolic images of the German performance, all the threaders, shooting errors, fourth places.

We Germans should be the very last to complain about an “imperfect” Olympics

As always, the audience demanded the maximum and a little more. There is no question that there was no shortage of defining faces, sporting dramas and narratives worth telling at these Winter Games. We were spoiled by characters and incidentsgarnished with controversies that are part of any sensible play.

In that sense, these games really had everything. Unfortunately no soul. But we Germans – who have been having such a hard time applying for the Olympics for years – should be the very last to complain if our European friends try to host the Olympics in the way that the new world allows.

The 2026 Games were “imperfect,” of course. Beforehand, many people had doubted the Italian art of organization, but this cliché was happily served up. Milan’s ice hockey temple sparkled rather unfinished on the wasteland, and because tram line 12 was not extended in time, the hosts improvised rather poorly.

Whether it was occasional traffic chaos, broken medals or a power outage in the curling stadium: with Italian composure, everything wasn’t as bad in the end. In terms of sport, the hosts did “bella figura” anyway. The Italians have never been more successful at the Winter Olympics, ski racer Federica Brignone and speed skating mom Francesca Lollobrigida fueled the enthusiasm with double gold.

The biggest criticism of the Olympics was that it didn’t feel like the Olympics at all

National successes provided an emotional breeding ground for these games – which was urgently needed because, untypically for Italy, there was a lack of flair and ambience. That was the biggest criticism of the 2026 Olympics: that it didn’t feel like the Olympics at all.

The two official hosts, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, were actually spread across seven venues. A spider web was created in which athletes and observers became entangled; the opposite of an epicenter, where the heart beats to the Olympic five-ring rhythm.

In fact, these Winter Games were more decentralized than ever before. A risk in the spirit of the IOC guidelines for more sustainability, perhaps without alternative in times of immense political, social and climatic challenges. But wait, you have to say that, a big minus point.

It was difficult to create a sense of community at the Olympics. “The magic of the rings, the coming together of the athletes, the spirit – that never really reached me,” complained biathlete Selina Grotian. The skiers in particular were strange, stranded in Bormio as if on a deserted island.

The winter sports world will have to get used to long distances

Linus Straßer found the conditions “absolutely sterile,” and ARD expert Felix Neureuther worriedly summarized the situation in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”: “It was very segregated. There wasn’t the Olympic atmosphere that many had hoped for. Whether this is the future for the Olympic Games“, with the long distances and the scattered sports facilities, is questionable for me.”

Neureuther’s findings: “Access has to be much easier. Ticket prices have to be reduced massively, thousands of spectators have to be brought to the competition venue.”

Now the bad news: the winter sports world will inevitably have to get used to long distances. In France’s Alps 2030, the Olympic concept looks very similar to Milan/Cortina 2026. That is the (new) reality.