Toward 2026: awareness campaign

Cortina d’Ampezzo, August 19, 2024

Ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Cortina d’Ampezzo is transforming to welcome the world as “The Queen of the Dolomites.” This effort has inspired an awareness campaign aimed at tourists and residents to explain and justify the many construction sites and works underway throughout the city.

Starting today, citizens and tourists will notice billboards on Cortina’s streets and construction sites, with the silhouette of a sportsman, inside a glimpse of Cortina, and a message in Italian and English accompanying the image emphasizing the city’s commitment to 2026. It consists of 5 subjects related to as many sports disciplines with 5 different claims. Phrases such as “We’re sorry for the temporary inconvenience.WE ARE MAKING THE WAY THAT WILL LEAD TO AN EVEN MORE MIGHTY CORTINA” or “We’re sorry for the temporary inconvenience. WE ARE MAKING CORTINA TAKE A LEAP FORWARD” will serve to remind everyone that these works are a necessary step toward making Cortina the ideal stage for the next Winter Olympics.

A campaign to inform and engage

This initiative, called “Awareness Campaign Towards 2026,” is a concrete action established at the Strategic Tourism Table together with the town’s productive activities and is part of a policy of preparation for the Olympic event that the Tourism Department and Cortina Marketing are carrying out to maintain the attraction and tourist flows before and after the games.

“Construction sites and ongoing works can cause inconvenience, but it is crucial that everyone understands the importance of this process,” said Roberta Alverà, Councillor for Tourism for the Municipality of Cortina. “Through this campaign, we want not only to apologize for temporary inconveniences, but also to involve citizens and tourists in the path of transformation that will make Cortina the beating heart of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“The campaign concept emphasizes that just as an athlete’s achievements are the result of long preparation, hard work and numerous sacrifices, the same is true for a city preparing to host the 2026 Olympic Games. “If we want Cortina to live up to this extraordinary event, we cannot ignore what lies behind every success: work and sacrifice,” Roberta Alverà explains. “The new Cortina that we will present to the world will be not only an achievement for the Olympics, but also a lasting legacy for our future. “The campaign will not be limited to street billboards. In the city’s hotels, visitors will find flyers with the same images as the athletes, enhanced by detailed explanations telling what is happening in Cortina and the importance of these works.

A commitment to the future

This campaign is a sign of Cortina d’Ampezzo’s commitment to preparing as well as possible for an event of global significance. The ongoing interventions will not only improve the city’s infrastructure, but will also help strengthen its image as a destination of excellence, capable of combining tradition and modernity in a unique natural setting.

Josep Ejarque, destination manager for Cortina Marketing explains “This action is just the first within the strategy that Cortina d’Ampezzo is putting in place to prepare the destination towards the next Olympic Games, to better address the so-called ‘intermezzo effect’ – that is, the period that Olympic destinations typically suffer immediately before and after the five-circle event. With this campaign we are working to make sure that it doesn’t happen with a strategy that aims to counter this effect, working mainly on communication and promotion of the ‘Cortina that will be,’ with all its new attractions, aiming at strengthening the Queen of the Dolomites in already established markets.”