Slovenia to shine at 2026 Winter Olympics

Slovenia will have its national house at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in neighbouring Italy located in the centre of Cortina d'Ampezzo, one of the host cities along with Milan.

Slovenia House will be located in the popular Janbo pub in the vicinity of the official fan zone and national houses of other countries, the Slovenian Olympic Committee (OKS) announced after its head Franjo Bobinac signed the contract in Cortina, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The venue will be able to take up to 250 visitors at a time and will be open to everyone, which the OKS says will make it "ideal for socialising, cheering and celebrating the achievements of Slovenian athletes".

Like at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Slovenia House in Cortina d'Ampezzo will also showcase Slovenian culture, tourism and business.

"Slovenia House will be an excellent platform to bring together athletes, fans and Slovenian and international partners, and to create new opportunities for cooperation and promotion of Slovenian brands," Bobinac was quoted as saying.

"The Olympic Games are unlikely to be so close to Slovenia anytime soon again, so we expect a lot of Slovenian fans, and we want to impress foreign visitors with our energy and sporting accomplishments, our stories and the beauty of Slovenia," he added.

Slovenia's decision to open its national house in Cortina d'Ampezzo was also hailed by Michele Di Gallo, director general of Fondazione Cortina, the company responsible for the organisation of the Games.

The Milano Cortina Games will take place between 6 and 22 February next year in the two host cities and other competition venues across the Dolomites, including Livigno, Bormio, Predazzo, Tesero and Anterselva.

Due to the rather long travel times between the venues, Slovenia will also have its points in Bormio and Predazzo to celebrate any medals. Once the competitions are over, the plan is for the medal winners to also come to Slovenia House in Cortina, Bobinac said.