Listen to the article
Milan’s Olympic Legacy Cements Two Decades of Urban Renaissance
Milan has claimed its place as an Olympic city, adding a prestigious new title to its established reputation as Italy’s fashion and finance capital. This milestone represents the culmination of two decades of transformation that has dramatically reshaped the city’s skyline while boosting investment, tourism, and cultural vibrancy across northern Italy.
The recently concluded Milan Cortina Winter Games have left both tangible and intangible legacies that further elevate Milan’s global standing. This marks the second major international event to significantly impact the city’s development trajectory, following Expo 2015, which catalyzed new investments and attracted tourists and talent to the region.
“Milan is more and more creating a distinctive brand able to attract an international audience,” explained Dino Ruta, who leads a Bocconi University economic impact study commissioned by the International Olympic Committee.
The physical legacy of the Milan Cortina Olympics was deliberately modest, following a strategic design that distributed events across seven different venues spanning cities, valleys, and mountain locations hundreds of kilometers apart. This approach maximized the use of existing facilities, reducing the need for costly new construction while spreading economic benefits across northern Italy.
Milan itself inherits the newly constructed Santgiulia arena, which hosted Olympic hockey competitions and will now serve as a multipurpose venue for concerts, exhibitions, and sporting events. Perhaps more significantly, the athletes’ Olympic Village will be converted into housing for 1,700 university students—a critical resource in a city with ten universities and an escalating affordable housing crisis.
According to preliminary data from the Bocconi study, approximately 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) were invested in the Games. This included funding for new and upgraded sports facilities, transportation improvements to roads, metro accessibility enhancements, railway upgrades, ski lift modernizations, energy costs, and administrative expenses.
In Milan specifically, hosting 90 indoor ice events and the opening ceremony at San Siro stadium cost 735 million euros ($867 million). Visitors were projected to spend around 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), according to a February report by the Assolombarda business association. The Olympics are expected to boost Milan’s 2026 economic growth by 0.6 percentage points to 1.7%, accelerating industrial output throughout the Lombardy region.
Milan’s transformation from a provincial industrial center began in the early 2000s with ambitious redevelopment initiatives that dramatically altered its urban landscape. The CityLife district emerged featuring three distinctive skyscrapers designed by internationally renowned architects Zaha Hadid, Daniel Libeskind, and Arata Isozaki. Meanwhile, the Porta Nuova development introduced the iconic UniCredit Tower, now standing as Milan’s tallest building at 218 meters.
Much of this construction boom coincided with Expo 2015, which attracted 22 million visitors over six months and repositioned Milan as a global tourist destination. Tourism has grown consistently since, rising 6.5% to reach 9.6 million visitors in 2025, compared to just over 9 million the previous year.
“Expo was not an isolated success,” noted Fiorenza Lipparini, director general of Milano & Partners – YesMilano, the city’s promotion agency. “It marked a systematic shift.”
Beyond tourism, Expo triggered a 3 billion-euro investment to transform the former Expo site into MIND, a science and technology hub. The city has since seen the number of five-star hotels triple, added two subway lines, and opened a dozen new museums, including cultural landmarks like Fondazione Prada, MUDEC, and Pirelli HangarBicocca.
However, Milan’s rapid ascent has sparked criticism from housing advocates who argue that prestigious events and luxury developments have driven up real estate prices, pricing out many working-class residents. These critics call for policies to address vacant public housing, create more subsidized housing options, and incentivize private owners to make available an estimated 80,000 uninhabited residences.
“The model of development brought by big events like Expo 2015 and then the Olympics brings private interests that don’t trickle down to the people,” said Angelo Junior Avelli of the Social Forum dell’Abitare, a housing advocacy group.
The Olympic Village has accelerated redevelopment in the southern Porta Romana railyard adjacent to one of Milan’s largest former industrial sites. This 20-hectare project will deliver 100,000 square meters of housing—about half designated as social housing under city regulations adopted in 2019—along with parks and public spaces covering roughly half the site.
The area sits across from Fondazione Prada, one of the first projects to catalyze the regeneration of the former industrial Symbiosis district, which is emerging as a fashion hub with headquarters for luxury brands Bottega Veneta and Moncler. A new headquarters for OTB, owner of Diesel, is also under construction nearby.
“Major events can open the interest of the world to the city,” said Luca Mangia, general manager of COIMA, the developer behind the Porta Romana and Porta Nuova projects. “We saw that with Expo 2015 and we hope it will happen again with the Olympic Games.”
Italy’s record 30 medals at the Winter Games are also expected to reignite public interest in winter sports, similar to how tennis star Jannik Sinner’s success has boosted tennis participation nationwide. Olympic organizers are collaborating with companies to encourage employees to engage in daily physical activity, continuing an initiative from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Already, Milan’s convention operator, which hosted two temporary skating venues, has announced plans to maintain a temporary ice rink while studying the feasibility of adding a permanent facility.
“The Olympics have reignited the enthusiasm and passion for ice and all of its sports, an energy that we don’t want to lose,” Giovanni Bozzetti, president of the Foundation Fiera Milano, affirmed in a recent statement.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
6 Comments
The Olympics can be a double-edged sword for host cities, but Milan appears to have navigated the challenges well. Leveraging previous experience from Expo 2015 and distributing events across the region seems to have paid dividends in terms of a sustainable legacy.
It’s encouraging to see cities like Milan taking a thoughtful, strategic approach to hosting major events like the Olympics. Careful planning to create a modest but impactful physical legacy, while also boosting the city’s international reputation, seems like a wise path forward.
Hosting major events like the Olympics can be a great opportunity for cities to showcase their transformation and global ambitions. Milan’s experience with Expo 2015 and now the Winter Games demonstrates how strategic planning and infrastructure investments can boost tourism, talent, and economic activity.
It’s impressive how Milan has managed to reshape its image and become a more prominent global destination over the past two decades. The Olympic legacy, combined with earlier efforts like Expo 2015, seem to have paid off in strengthening Milan’s brand and appeal.
You’re right, Milan has worked hard to position itself as a major international hub. Leveraging high-profile events like the Olympics is a smart strategy to accelerate urban development and raise the city’s global profile.
The article highlights how Milan’s hosting of the Olympics represents the culmination of a broader transformation the city has undergone. It will be interesting to see how the Olympic legacy shapes Milan’s future development and helps cement its status as a global business and cultural center.