The Milan Winter Olympics were meant to start with a celebration, but the Games hit turbulence even before the opening ceremony on February 6. From unfinished infrastructure and logistical headaches to ongoing climate concerns, challenges are already piling up. As if that wasn’t enough, just minutes before the first event of the Games, Italy didn’t give much reason to be confident.

On February 4, curling’s mixed doubles competition began in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Starting some events early is common at the Olympics when schedules are tight, especially for sports like curling that have many rounds. Fans and athletes gathered in the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium to see the first action of the Games.

But just about four minutes into play, something unexpected happened.

Lights in the arena flickered and then went out, leaving the ice in partial darkness. The sudden power outage hit all four sheets of ice at once.

For a few tense moments, the crowd watched in silence while workers restored power. According to the organizing committee, the interruption lasted a little more than three minutes before lights, scoreboards, and heating came back on and competition resumed.

The officials has now issued a statement.

“There was a brief interruption to competition at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium due to an energy-related issue. Power was restored immediately, and competition has since resumed and is ongoing as planned.”

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However, the effects of the outage did not end with curling.

The training event for men’s luge was postponed by approximately 30 minutes as the organizers of the Winter Olympics tried to ensure that everything was operational again. Also, the weather outside was a challenge.

An accumulation of snow up to 8 inches (20 cm) was recorded in certain spots around Cortina that day.

To the athletes, the temporary blackout was one of the initial memorable moments of these Games. For the online fans, however, it was a moment to vent their frustration rather than celebrate.

Fans in shock as power outages and delays hit the Winter Olympics

“If only someone wrote an Olympics primer and in it discussed how Italy isn’t quite ready to host the Olympics. If someone wrote that then this wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone,” one fan wrote.

Another added, “It could not possible start any worse for them. First the hockey rink, now this.”

Italy did spend heavily on Olympic facilities, including ensuring they had significant improvements to roads, railways, and access to facilities. However, a lot of major transport projects will not be completed in time to host the Games.

Consider the Cortina cable car system that is expected to transport spectators to skiing in the Alps; this will not be ready on time before the competition commences.

Likewise, scheduled planned infrastructure, like tunnels and bridges, funded as part of a €3.5  billion transport plan, will not be ready on time. Also, the primary ice hockey arena in Milan (Santa Giulia Arena) is still under construction, close to the start date.

Another fan remarked, “Winter Olympics chaos off to a blazing start.”

Then, one captured the tension in the moment. “Whoa… four minutes in and already a power outage? That’s the kind of chaotic start that can throw schedules, broadcasts, and athletes off their rhythm. Hopefully it’s fixed fast, but this is already making the Winter Olympics opening unforgettable.”

The emotion was echoed in this comment: “Power outage at the rink and Gem outages on the internet Great Start.”

In addition to these short-term problems, the Games are experiencing greater logistical issues.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are the most geographically dispersed ever, as the events will be hosted in eight towns in three parts of northern Italy. That is in Milan on the plains and mountain resorts such as Cortina, Bormio, Livigno, Anterselva, and Val di Fiemme.

Locations are far apart…it can take more than five hours to go by road between Milan and Cortina, and many of the mountain venues are remote and lacked high speed transport connections.

Moving thousands of athletes, officials, media, and spectators between these sites relies heavily on roads, trains, and buses, making reliable connections more complicated than in past Games

Even so, with unfinished infrastructure, long travel times, and logistical hurdles, the Milan-Cortina Olympics are still moving forward.