MILAN (AP) — Next year’s Winter Olympics might be called the Milan Cortina Games but they will actually be staged across a large swath of northern Italy.

Covering an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles), the 2026 Games will be the most widespread Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics ever.

And that’s even if a trip across the Atlantic doesn’t have to be factored in.

If organizers aren't able to finish the sliding center in time, the backup plan is to host the bobsled, luge and skeleton events in Lake Placid, New York.

The two main clusters of the Games are Milan — the beating heart of Italy's industrial north — and Cortina d'Ampezzo, a posh winter resort in the Dolomites mountain range, about 280 kilometres (170 miles) northeast of Milan.

In addition, athletes will compete in three other mountain clusters, while the closing ceremony will be held in Verona, the largest city in the northeastern Veneto region.

Milan Cortina will be the first Winter Games to fully embrace cost-cutting reforms installed by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and use mostly existing venues.

Here's a closer look at them:

Milan

Cortina

Bormio

The men’s Alpine skiing will take place on the fearsome Stelvio course, a regular stop on the men’s World Cup circuit. Veteran Italian skier Christof Innerhofer told the AP recently that he can’t remember a tougher course at the Olympics in the past 30 years. The Stelvio Ski Center will also be the venue for ski mountaineering, which will be making its Olympic debut.

Livigno

Known as the “Little Tibet” of the Italian Alps, Livigno will host the sports that are perhaps most popular among young people. Snowboarding and freestyle skiing will be held at Livigno Snow Park and Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park, with a total of 26 medals awarded. The small town in Valtellina, near the border with Switzerland, proudly unveiled the Aerials and Moguls Park in December, boasting that it had delivered the first 2026 Olympic venue.

Predazzo

Surrounded by the peaks of the Dolomites, Predazzo will be a stunning setting for the ski jumping events — both the discipline itself and as part of Nordic Combined. Predazzo is the most populated municipality in Val di Fiemme, an area which has a rich history of hosting Nordic skiing world championships and World Cup races. The ski jumping facility spans an area of 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet) and consists of two main ramps for international competitions as well as training ramps and other equipped spaces for athletes.

Tesero

The cross-country skiing will take place in Tesero, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from Predazzo. The cross-country skiing stadium was opened in 1990, the year before the area hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships for the first time.

Anterselva

Biathlon will take place in Anterselva, which has 60 kilometres (40 miles) of tracks and is nestled in the South Tyrol mountains. The Anterselva Biathlon Arena has a rich history with the sport, having hosted the World Championships multiple times since the 1970s. It also hosts World Cup races every year. The town itself, which is near the border with Austria, has a unique cultural heritage: more than 98% of the population speak German as their mother tongue, with Italian and Ladin as second languages.

Verona

The closing ceremony will take place at the historic Verona Arena, a large Roman amphitheatre built almost 2,000 years ago that is mainly used to host large-scale opera performances.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games