After the success of Milan-Cortina, Rome considers a bid for 2040 Olympics.
Italian sports and political leaders have officially signalled their intention to evaluate a candidacy for the Summer Olympic Games in Rome in 2040.
The proposal follows the successful conclusion of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games, and would see the Summer Games return to the Italian capital for the first time in 80 years.
This week Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri confirmed in an interview with newspaper Corriere della Sera that “the conditions are in place” to consider a bid for either 2036 or 2040.
He emphasised that the successful management of the 2025 Jubilee Year, which saw the city handle tens of millions of visitors, serves as concrete proof of Rome’s organisational capacity.
Gualtieri expressed a readiness to collaborate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and the national government to build a “highly competitive” bid.
The momentum for a new candidacy is largely attributed to the high level of international credibility Italy earned during the Milano-Cortina Games which set a “a new, very high standard” according to IOC president Kirsty Coventry.
Rome’s Olympic history
Rome famously held the Summer Oympics in 1960, hosting athletics and equestrian sports in the Stadio Olimpico, while the football finals were held in the brand new – but now dilapidated – Stadio Flaminio.
However the city also made good use of its majestic sites, with gymnastics taking place at the Baths of Caracalla, wrestling at the Basilica of Maxentius.
A decade ago, Rome’s then mayor Virginia Raggi vetoed a bid by CONI to host the 2024 Olympics in the Italian capital, on grounds of cost unsustainability, claiming the resources would be better spent on improving city services.
A furious Giovanni Malagò, then CONI president, said that Italy had lost out on major investment and lashed out at Raggi for making the country “look like fools”.
Rome’s Olympic bid had been submitted in 2015 by former mayor Ignazio Marino and bid leader Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, with the backing of then Italian premier Matteo Renzi.
Three years before that, in 2012, Italy’s then prime minister Mario Monti made the “painful” decision to drop a bid for the 2020 Olympics because of financial concerns.
Caution
Malagò, today head of the Milan–Cortina organising committee, has not forgotten the rejection suffered by CONI ten years ago when Rome city council torpedoed Italy’s 2024 Olympic bid.
“Can the example of the Winter Games reopen the doors for Rome? It’s premature and wrong to talk about it, even counterproductive: trust me”, Malagò told reporters, claiming: “We need to fully understand the geopolitical scenarios” after the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
However, he said that the Italian capital has certain advantages, citing Rome’s “unique history, including its Olympic candidacies” as well as “sustainability”, pointing to the city’s 70,000-seat Stadio Olimpico with an athletics track.
“I think our country deserves another Summer Olympics” – CONI president Luciano Buonfiglio said – “But let’s take it step by step. A candidacy has to be agreed on and shared with the government.”
Photo credit: Obatala-photography / Shutterstock.com.
