Alarm bells are ringing ahead of the Winter Olympics in Italy kicking off this week, with the construction of various venues that are hosting events yet to be completed.
The opening ceremony for the Games takes place on February 6, with it running until February 22, but some events start before then on Wednesday and Thursday.
And despite the proximity to the Winter Olympics getting underway, several photos have showed how Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are not yet fully ready, with a report in German outlet BILD describing it as ‘one giant construction site’.
To begin with, the gondola up to the Tofana slope in Cortina, where women’s alpine skiers will compete, is yet to be finished, while the cable car that is supposed to transport fans to watch was still waiting for the cabins to deliver on Monday.
A report suggested the cabins are supposed to arrive at some point on Tuesday.
It was expected that most of the work would have been completed by Monday to allow technical and safety inspections to take place, but this won’t be the case.
Several venues at the Winter Olympics are yet to be fully constructed despite the Games beginning tomorrow
The gondola up to the Tofana slope in Cortona for women’s alpine skiing is incomplete
The cable car supposed to transport fans was still waiting for the cabins to arrive on Monday
A general view of the cable car construction site, with workers battling to get things ready
The report adds that one construction worker predicted it could take another two weeks for this to be completed, although one engineer guessed it would be closer to one week, with skiing events starting on Saturday.
Several photos show individuals hard at work to resolve this, with cranes present and key bits of equipment and structure still not in place.
As a result of the cable car not yet being finished, schools in Cortina will reportedly be forced to close on February 10 and 12, and potentially also on February 11.
This is to reduce traffic in the area, with more fans having to use shuttle buses to get to the skiing venues now.
In an internal memo leaked, Andrea Francisi, Chief Games Operations Officer, said : ‘The loss of this strategic infrastructure just before the start of the Olympic Games presents us with significant organisational challenges and has a significant impact on traffic flow management and security.’
This is a huge blow to organisers, with a completed cable car site able to transport up to 2,400 passengers per hour.
Cortina is set to also host other events like luge, bobsleigh, skeleton and curling, but there is still lots of work to be done at the Curling Olympic Stadium, with pictures showing cranes, various areas bordered off and construction workers.
The picture is similar in Milan where ice hockey will take place, with reports having broken over the weekend that the new arena won’t be finished in time for the first match of the Games on Thursday.
A construction crane in place at Cortina, with the opening ceremony taking place on Friday
The Curling Olympic Stadium is also not yet ready despite the event starting tomorrow
There are similar problems at the ice hockey arena back in Milan, with the ice rink already smaller than the minimum requirement in the National Hockey League
The ice rink has already generated controversy because it is smaller than the minimum requirement in the National Hockey League.
It is said to be approximately three to four feet shorter, with some figures concerned that this is ‘too small’ for modern, high-speed hockey.
Several other parts of the arena are also yet to be finished, including the changing rooms.
The optimism ahead of the Games has also been dampened given half a metre of fresh snow is predicted for Cortina over the coming days.
