MILAN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday officially started the one-year countdown to the opening of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics with the unveiling of a countdown clock and a symbolic invitation for the world's best athletes to participate.

"With pleasure, I invite the various athletes of the world to return to Italy to celebrate," IOC President Thomas Bach said at a press conference.

The Milan-Cortina Games will take place from February 6 to 22, 2026.

Preparation for the Games has so far suffered from delays, budgetary overruns, and worries about a lack of snow. But in his remarks Thursday, Bach said he was confident everything would be ready when the eyes of the sporting world turn to Italy.

The Olympic torch relay "will bring the Olympic flame to each of the Italian provinces," Bach said. "But the Games are taking shape well before the lighting of the touch."

According to Michele Costabile, a marketing professor at Rome's LUISS University and an expert on the impacts of major international events, the issues related to cost and deadlines are par for the course in Italy.

"We can recall similar issues in the leadup to the Milan Expo in 2015, or in 2006, when Turin hosted the Winter Olympics," Costabile told Xinhua, adding "It's a trait here, that most of the work gets done under last-minute pressure. But the end results have been highly successful. I expect the same for Milan-Cortina."

Costabile said that hosting an event like the Winter Olympics provides many benefits to a region: attracting tourists, sparking investments in infrastructure, improving an area's image, and bringing new skills to those involved with the organization.

In addition to Bach's remarks at the one-year pre-anniversary of the Milan-Cortina Games, organizers on Thursday unveiled a huge countdown clock in the Piazza del Duomo in the center of Milan. The clock will run in reverse, counting down the time until the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro Stadium.

Matteo Salvini, Italy's Minister of Infrastructure and Transport and the country's Vice Prime Minister, was on hand for Thursday's events, where he said that hosting the Games would be "the victory and the triumph for Italy."

The 2026 Games will represent the third time Italy has hosted the world's largest winter sporting event, following Turin in 2006 and Cortina d'Ampezzo's hosting in 1956.

Milan-Cortina was awarded the Games after a vote of the IOC in 2019. Enditem

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