The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are Italy\u2019s fourth as Olympic host and come 70 years after the region first welcomed the world\u2019s best winter athletes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is Italy\u2019s third Winter Olympics, second only to the United States (four), reinforcing the nation\u2019s long-standing influence within the Olympic movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what\u2019s changed since 1956?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 1956 winter games were originally scheduled for 1944 but were postponed due to the second world war, eventually taking place in Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was groundbreaking in several ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The games ran for 11 days, far shorter than this year\u2019s 17-day program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Italian skier Giuliana Chenal-Minuzzo became the first woman to recite the Olympic Oath at an opening ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the first time, the Winter Olympics were broadcast live on television, albeit in black and white, to nine European nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1956, winter and summer games were held in the same year, (Melbourne hosted the Summer Olympics that year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This changed in 1994, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) moved them to alternating even-numbered years, significantly boosting the profile, commercial appeal and growth of the Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n