The one-year countdown to the Milan Cortina Olympic Games is on. International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach has proudly declared “Italy is ready.”

IOC President Thomas Bach was in Italy this week for meetings in Rome and Milan, where he joined the ceremony to mark one year to go until the Olympic Winter Games Milano

Italy began the one-year countdown to the Winter Olympics on Thursday with a series of events designed to fuel enthusiasm for the Games that will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said on Thursday that Italy is ready to write the next chapter of its Olympic history at an event organized at Milan's Piccolo Theatre one year before the 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to kick off.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach on Thursday officiated the one-year countdown to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, saying “Italy is ready.”