MILAN-CORTINA 2026. For the first time today in Verona the mascots Tina and Milo
The boys and girls of Segala primary school met the stoats Tina and Milo for the first time
MILANO-CORTINA 2026. For the first time today in Verona the mascots Tina and Milo.
The mascots of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, on tour of the competition venues, stopped at Palazzo Barbieri.
They were welcomed by the mayor Damiano Tommasi, the Olympic champions Fulvio Valbusa, Roberto di Donna and around seventy boys and girls from the Segala primary school.
In 2026, the Verona Arena will host the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics and the opening of the Winter Paralympics on 6 March.
A first festive moment full of meaning, in which it was underlined how inclusive sport is, of everyone and for everyone. This is what is experienced today by around seventy boys and girls of the Segala primary school who met for the first time the ermines Tina and Milo, official mascots of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Also welcoming them in the Tapestry Room at Palazzo Barbieri were the mayor Damiano Tommasi and the Veronese Olympic champions Fulvio Valbusa and Roberto Di Donna.
"In 2026 we will host the closing ceremonies of the Olympics and the opening of the Paralympics, the five circles will pass through Verona for the first time writing the history of the city – said the mayor Damiano Tommasi -. Athletes have been preparing for this global event for a few years now, and we too are projecting ourselves towards those two historic moments. In fact, the adjustments to the Arena necessary to host the event are underway together with the infrastructure company Milano-Cortina which is planning the interventions and implementation times.
It will be a great involvement for Verona, many people will arrive in our city and discover its beauties, a challenge that will also be important regarding the issue of accessibility. We will all be lucky enough to experience this moment live, and see many countries and numerous cultures together and united by the same goal. Participating in an Olympics, as the champions Flavio Valbusa and Roberto Di Donna present today teach us, requires study, work and continuous training, and one of the best lessons that sport gives us is that the result comes after the commitment.
The wish I address to everyone is therefore to become passionate about it sports one of the most beautiful experiences of life, and I hope that, thanks to the Olympic Games, the vision of sport can also change and grow".
The Educational team of the organizing committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games was also present at Palazzo Barbieri Milano Cortina 2026, including the former Italian skater Valentina Marchei now responsible for the Ambassador Program who led the meeting involving the young guests. A real warm hug, even physically at the end of the meeting for the two cute stoats, the two Olympic champions and the mayor Tommasi.
"The 2026 event is now very close and it is wonderful to return to Verona – said Fulvio Valbusa -. I still remember the moment I had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch in Piazza Bra during the Turin Games in 2006, so I think hosting the closing ceremony of the Olympics and opening of the Paralympics is something extraordinary. They are sporting events that have always had something special magical, and I am convinced that Verona will also be so during these events".
"The Paralympic movement has had a great expansion – stated Roberto Di Donna – and I am very happy because it allows boys and girls with different abilities to be able to race. It is an extraordinary moment and I am happy that we can give such a spotlight to this event".
The mascots of Milano Cortina 2026.
Tina, with a light coat, embodies the energy of the Olympic Games, while Milo, with a brown coat, will be the face of the Paralympic Games. Their names are diminutives that recall the host cities: Tina da Cortina and Milo da Milano. The selection of the mascots was preceded by a creative phase which actively involved primary and secondary school students, under the collaboration of the Organizing Committee and the Ministry of Education. More than 1600 ideas were evaluated, among which that of the Istituto Comprensivo di Taverna, in the province of Catanzaro, was chosen. The stoats, with their self-confident and proactive attitude, aim to transmit to the whole world the energy, enthusiasm and warmth of the contemporary Italian spirit by conveying values of inclusion, solidarity and determination that are at the heart of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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