The 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, were the most geographically widespread Games in history. With regions hours apart from one another other (plus two other mountain areas that hosted events additional hours further out), logistics, communication and transportation issues had never been more paramount. And yet, the International Olympic Committee and its local organizing committee in Italy pulled it off for fans around the world.
While the Olympics are one of the most complex events in the world to organize, there are plenty of universal takeaways for all planners. Here are five things the Olympic Games do well — and these Olympic Games did them exceptionally well — demonstrating just how crucial the basics are.
Plan (really far) ahead
Once they win their bids to host, Olympic Games' organizing committees typically have at least seven years to plan. That allows for a steady and slow build-up to the Games and the ability to plan in stages — from several years out to several months to several weeks to several days and then even several hours. All stakeholders are in close communication with the organizing committee, whether they are representatives of the host city; officials from international federations that travel with large contingents; sponsors looking to activate; thousands of media credentialed for the Games; or fans buying tickets and hospitality packages. That was no different in Milan and Cortina, where the widespread nature of the Games required even more planning, more logistics and more coordinating than normal.
Communicate early and often
The need to be in constant communication from the get-go is imperative, especially at an event like the Olympic Games, where fans and stakeholders are coming from all corners of the world.
Take the credentialed media as an example of how the organizing committee in Milan and Cortina did just that. The organizers gave reporters the opportunity months out to attend briefings on everything from transportation to housing to the layout of the media center located in one of the city’s main convention centers. Also months out, the organizers requested transportation details from every media member attending so the committee could have the appropriate staff at the two airports serving the city advising on transportation to hotels and all the other places the media needed to be. The committee also requested departure information in order to have staff on hand to support those logistics.
Learn from the past
One thing the International Olympic Committee does well is study best practices from past Olympic Games to pass on to future hosts. The IOC operates the Games Observers Programme at each of its events, giving future hosts an inside look at everything from transportation and security to ticketing and venue management. In Milan, the hosts of the next two Olympic Winter Games — France in 2030 and Utah in 2034 — signed an agreement that allows their local universities to share learnings from Milan to make their future events better.
That kind of approach lets future hosts learn what works and what doesn’t work. There is a considerable amount of sharing from one host to the next, which is partly why the IOC has had such operational success at their most recent Games. Planners should always share their top post-con takeaways from past events with future hosts.
It’s the story that counts
Nobody does storytelling like the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It’s why the coverage on NBC and its affiliate channels is so compelling. They know that the competition on the field of play often is engaging enough. But sometimes with sports as obscure as the ones in the Olympic Winter Games, organizers also know that if viewers can get invested in the athletes' back stories — even briefly in a short segment — they’re more likely to stay tuned to see how those athletes do. It’s human nature.
There are lessons there for planners: You might not have Olympians and Paralympians with heart-wrenching back stories at your events or among your memberships, but everyone has a tale to tell. And your event itself can relate a story, as well. Lean into telling it at every avenue you can, and your attendees will be more likely to buy into what you’re selling them.
Find creative ways to activate
One aspect of the Olympic Games that most fans don’t know about is the number of sponsor and donor activations taking place around the edges. In Milan, that included a closed-door hospitality space run by USA Hockey, U.S. Figure Skating and US Speedskating, the three governing bodies whose sports were being staged specifically in Milan. They took over a boutique hotel and created a space for athletes, families, governing-body officials, sponsors and donors to congregate each night, watch the results, and celebrate wins directly with appearances from the athletes. The International Skating Union, which oversees figure skating and speedskating on a global scale, did the same thing at a hotel near their venue.
Main Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola and Lilly also had public areas where fans could engage with their brands by holding an Olympic torch, or getting custom photos of themselves in mountain settings, while also telling stories of those brands.
Many countries formed their own "houses," many of which were open to the public, to promote their cultures and athletes. They featured the food, drink, and other cultural aspects to encourage people to visit those countries. Each house had its own flair, feel and purpose, but each gave the highest spenders and most engaged participants the chance to engage at an even deeper level. Your event’s sponsors can look to how the Olympics treats such ancillary activations to find creative ways to engage attendees in a deeper way.
