Torino 2006: One Year On
The XX Olympic Winter Games – Torino 2006 were held in Turin, Italy from 10 to 26 February 2006. Today, one year on from these “truly magnificent Games”, as IOC President Jacques Rogge called them, Olympic.org looks back at the Games and its legacy.
The World’s Best From 10 to 26 February 2006, the Turin Games were the focus of worldwide attention, as approximately 2,500 of the world’s best winter athletes competed in 15 different winter sports disciplines, comprising 84 medal events. Ultimately, the athletes of the 80 National Olympic Committees present would receive a total of 1,026 medals (342 gold, silver and bronze). These Olympians brought us great sporting memories. These sporting events culminated in the final medal of the Games, which was presented to Italian cross–country skier Giorgio Di Centa at the Closing Ceremony.
A Year In Piedmont Since the Olympic and Paralympic Games came to a close, the Olympic legacy has already been paying benefits to the local community. To date, the Olympic facilities have hosted 20 sports events, ranging from the World Fencing Championship to the Winter Universiade, and 40 non-sporting events such as major music concerts, fairs and corporate events. This amounts to 545 days of events welcoming 240,000 visitors from around the globe.* There has also been a marked increase in the number of tourists to the region, particularly from abroad, giving an estimated increase of about 100,000 – 150,000 tourists per year following the Games*. The magic of the Games has also seen an increase in the number of young people taking up winter sports in the region, giving a new impetus to sports that had been dormant in the region for many years. Indeed, the GE Ice Plaza, sponsored by the Worldwide TOP partner GE, is still being enjoyed by the citizens of Turin and has seen 30,000 visitors this winter alone.* There has also been a great environmental legacy from the Games, which will pay dividends for many years to come (for more information)
Passion Still Lives Here On the one-year anniversary of the Games – 10 February – the City of Turin will be holding a celebration in the Piazza Castello, site of the medals plaza during the Games, with a concert and exhibition. This will be followed on 11 February, which was the first day of competitions in the mountain venues, by celebrations in the mountain sites. However, the Olympic legacy will not stop there, as a new foundation has been set up called the Fondazione XX Marzo, which will be charged with optimising the legacy of the Games and running seven of the former Olympic sites. There are already a number of events scheduled, which will see more concerts and events taking place in Turin and the Piedmont region, along with sporting events such as Bob and Skeleton World Cups, A1 Championship Hockey matches and the Junior Luge World Championships – showing that even a year after the Games, the passion still lives in Piedmont!
TORINO 2006 The Olympic Winter Games were held in Turin from 10 to 26 February 2006. The Turin Games comprised seven different sports and 15 different disciplines, which were played out in eight different competition sites. Around 2,500 athletes, 650 judges and umpires and over 900,000 spectators participated in this 20th edition of the Winter Games.
* Source: Turismo Torino
Listen to TOROC President Valentino Castellani talk about his memories of the Games and its legacy (.mp3)