Overview
SafeAbroad analysts assess that the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics presents a low to moderate risk to traveler safety. Many safety precautions have been accounted for by authorities due to the scale of the event and amount of international travelers it attracts. While preventative measures have been taken, the sheer number of spectators can make security lapses more serious. Several other safety concerns, such as winter weather, cannot be prevented.
Key Takeaways
- The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 2 (exercise increased caution) travel advisory for Italy due to the potential for terrorism; however, there is a low likelihood of terrorism at the games.1 While sporting events are prime targets for terrorism, the International Olympic Committee and government of Italy are prioritizing the safety of athletes and spectators at the games and thus, implementing extensive security measures.2 3 4
- There is a moderate to high likelihood of protests leading up to and during the games; however, due to the geographic distribution of the games coupled with the security presence at the games, these protests will likely be both small and peaceful. These protests will most likely either be in opposition to the Games or in relation to current contentious issues such as Palestine and immigration.
- There is a high likelihood of adverse winter weather, which could make travel between venues at the games challenging. Northern Italy during the winter months has cold temperatures and experiences fog and frequent snowfall especially in the mountainous areas.5 6 Public transportation services to include trains, subways, and buses will likely be impacted if there is winter weather through delays and cancellations.
- Crime is generally low in Italy; however, there is a high likelihood of petty crimes to include bag-snatching and pickpocketing.7 These petty crimes often occur in city centers and tourist attractions, and criminals commonly target tourists.8 9Travelers that take preventative steps are much less likely to experience any crime.
Background
Throughout February and March of 2026, the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held across northern Italy.
From February 6 to February 22 and March 6 to 15, Italy will be hosting the 2026 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, respectively.10 The two host cities are Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.11 Approximately 3,500 athletes from 93 countries are scheduled to compete at 15 venues across northern Italy.12 Approximately 1.4 million tickets are on sale for the Games, and as of the end of October, approximately 850,000 tickets have been sold.13 Overall, approximately 2 million spectators are predicted to attend.14
The 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are considered the most geographically expansive winter games in history covering approximately 8,500 square miles.15 There are eight locations that are scheduled to have events.16
- Milan: the San Siro Olympic Stadium, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, the Ice Skating Arena, the Speed Skating Stadium, and the Rho Ice Hockey Arena
- Verona: the Olympic Arena
- Cortina d’Ampezzo: the Alpine Skiing Centre, the Curling Olympic Stadium, and the Sliding Centre
- Livigno: the Snow Park and the Aerials and Moguls Park
- Bormio: the Stelvio Ski Centre
- Tesero: the Cross-Country Skiing Stadium
- Predazzo: the Ski Jumping Stadium
- Anterselva/Antholz: the Biathlon Arena
For a geographic reference for these locations, please refer to the map below or click here for an interactive map.
Implications for Travelers
Travelers to Italy should practice increased caution during the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic and Paralympics due to security and safety concerns.
Terrorism
There is a low likelihood of terrorism at the Games. Sporting events are prime candidates for terrorism because they provide a global stage that allows for widespread publicity, a symbolic target, and densely populated spaces.18 Further, the U.S. State Department has issued a Level 2 (exercise increased caution) travel advisory for Italy due to the potential for terrorism.19
However, the Chief Games Operations Officer Andrea Francisi stated that “security is an essential pillar for the success of the Games”, and the Italian government has stated that security at the games is a top priority.20 21 Therefore, both the International Olympic Committee and Italy are prioritizing the safety and security of athletes and spectators at the games. At this time, there is limited publicly available information on the security that will be implemented at the upcoming Games; however, the security will likely be modeled on past Games. During the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, security measures included physical barricades, checkpoints, restricted zones, background checks, and artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance systems, as well as a large presence of law enforcement and military personnel.22 23 The upcoming Games will likely utilize many of these same security measures but will have to adapt since the venues are spread out over a large geographic area and not primarily concentrated in one city.
Travelers are advised to exercise caution and be vigilant of their surroundings especially in densely populated spaces and venues. Travelers are also advised if they see anything suspicious to immediately report it to the nearest law enforcement or military personnel.
Civil Unrest
There is a moderate to high likelihood of protests leading up to and during the Games; however, due to the geographic distribution of the games coupled with the security presence at the games, these protests will likely be both small and peaceful. The Olympics, historically, have been used to make statements through boycotts and protests.24 For example, during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, fans at a football match between Israel and Mali held Palestinian flags and wore t-shirts with letters that spelled “FREE PALESTINE”.25
With regards to the upcoming Games, the Comitato Insostenibili Olimpiadi 2026 (Unsustainable Olympics Committee 2026) is a network of groups that oppose the Games due to its alleged unsustainable economic, environmental, and social impacts.26 27 They will potentially hold demonstrations both leading up to and during the games.28 Aside from potential demonstrations protesting against the games, there is also the potential for demonstrations that revolve around current contentious issues to include Palestine and immigration; these types of demonstrations have become more frequent and attracted larger crowds over the past few months in Europe.29 30
In the event of protests, travelers are advised to avoid protest areas and plan alternate travel routes to circumvent the protest areas. Travelers are also advised to monitor social media and local news for real-time updates.
Winter Weather
There is a high likelihood of adverse winter weather, which could make travel between venues at the games challenging. Northern Italy during the winter months has cold temperatures and experiences fog and frequent snowfall especially in the mountainous areas.31 Fog and snowfall create hazardous conditions due to reduced visibility and traction on the roads.32 Public transportation services to include trains, subways, and buses will likely be impacted if there is winter weather to include delays and cancellations; however, due to the frequent occurrence of winter weather in northern Italy, there will likely be procedures in place to mitigate the negative consequences.
In the event of adverse winter weather, travelers are advised to exercise caution when traveling between spectator venues and allow extra time for travel.33 Travelers are also advised to plan journeys accordingly by checking the weather forecast and consulting the local public transportation app or website ahead of time.
Crime
Crime is generally low in Italy; however, there is a high likelihood of petty crimes to include bag-snatching and pickpocketing.34 Milan’s crime rates are very low, with only around 0.07% of people in Milan experiencing crime in 2023.35 Those that do occur are usually petty crimes, which are most common in city centers and tourist attractions where criminals will often target tourists.36 Thefts accounted for 44% of all crime in Italy in 2024.37 Some of the most dangerous areas of Milan include: Central Station, Corvetto, Quarto Oggiaro, San Siro, and Rogoredo.38
To reduce the likelihood of being a victim of a petty crime, travelers are advised to not display signs of wealth such as by wearing expensive jewelry nor carry large amounts of cash or valuables on their person.39 Travelers are also advised to be cognizant of their surroundings in crowded areas.
Crowd Safety
Crowd crush presents a low to moderate risk to travelers due to precautionary steps taken by authorities in anticipation of heavy attendance.40 Large-scale events like the Olympics can create concentrated, high-density crowds in confined spaces like venue entrances, transit hubs, fan zones, and queues. These gatherings have the potential to create crowd dangerous crushes/surges. Crowd surges can be caused by a host of factors including multiple events finishing at the same time, fans rushing for limited trains/buses, bottlenecks at narrow entry gates, and weather delays causing spectators to leave all at once. Authorities have recognized the dangers of crowd crushes and have taken measures to prevent crowd crush such as the limiting of tickets in Cortina and creating additional cable lifts to ease crowd sizes.41
Travelers can reduce the likelihood of getting caught in a crowd surge by arriving early to avoid peak crowds, choosing the least congested entrances when available, moving with the crowd, keeping a center of gravity with arms in front to protect their chest, and by communicating predetermined meeting points with groups.
- https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/italy.html
↩︎ - https://icct.nl/publication/terrorism-threat-2024-paris-olympics-learning-past-understand-present ↩︎
- https://www.dw.com/en/2026-winter-olympics-milan-cortina-preparations-controversy/a-74514362 ↩︎
- https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/milano-cortina-2026-hosts-the-international-security-briefing ↩︎
- https://www.expatica.com/it/moving/about/climate-and-seasons-in-italy-79363/#regional-climates ↩︎
- https://esim.holafly.com/travel-tips/italy-winter-weather/ ↩︎
- https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/safety-and-security
↩︎ - https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/italy ↩︎
- https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/safety-and-security ↩︎
- https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026
↩︎ - https://www.nbcolympics.com/news/when-are-next-winter-olympics-milan-cortina-2026-dates-venues-and-more
↩︎ - https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026
↩︎ - https://www.courant.com/2025/10/29/2026-olympics-100-days/
↩︎ - https://it.usembassy.gov/2026-winter-olympics/
↩︎ - https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/46534800/winter-olympic-games-2026-100-days-schedule-athletes-dates
↩︎ - https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/territories
↩︎ - https://www.roadtrips.com/winter-games/winter-games-packages/venues/
↩︎ - https://icct.nl/publication/terrorism-threat-2024-paris-olympics-learning-past-understand-present
↩︎ - https://travel.state.gov/en/international-travel/travel-advisories/italy.html ↩︎
- https://www.dw.com/en/2026-winter-olympics-milan-cortina-preparations-controversy/a-74514362 ↩︎
- https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-cortina-2026/news/milano-cortina-2026-hosts-the-international-security-briefing
↩︎ - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/25/world/olympics/olympics-paris-security-opening-ceremony.html ↩︎
- https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/algorithmic-surveillance-takes-the-stage-at-the-paris-olympics ↩︎
- https://www.cfr.org/timeline/olympics-boycott-protest-politics-history
↩︎ - https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240725-palestinian-flags-unfurled-by-football-fans-in-protest-against-israel-at-paris-olympics/
↩︎ - https://www.solaceglobal.com/report/winter-olympics-2026-travel-risk-assessment/ ↩︎
- https://olympicswatch.org/milan-cortina-2026/ ↩︎
- https://olympicswatch.org/milan-cortina-2026/ ↩︎
- https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/10/5/hundreds-of-thousands-turn-out-at-pro-palestine-marches-across-europe ↩︎
- https://www.npr.org/2025/08/25/nx-s1-5515313/uk-britain-immigration-protests-asylum ↩︎
- https://www.expatica.com/it/moving/about/climate-and-seasons-in-italy-79363/#regional-climates ↩︎
- https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/01/WinterDrivingTips_VTTI.html
↩︎ - https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/italy
↩︎ - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/safety-and-security
↩︎ - https://www.statista.com/statistics/1457821/milan-crime-rate/ ↩︎
- https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/italy;https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/safety-and-security
↩︎ - https://www.ilcorrieredelgiorno.it/milano-e-prima-nella-classifica-delle-province-piu-pericolose-ditalia-per-numero-di-reati/
↩︎ - https://mediolan.pl/en/dangerous-districts-of-milan/
↩︎ - https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/italy
↩︎ - https://www.dailysabah.com/sports/transport-delays-push-cortina-to-cut-winter-olympic-ticket-sales/news ↩︎
- https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/sport/olympics-2026-cortina-ticket-sales-cap-intl
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