Amid rising political tensions, will there be controversy at the Olympics?
Global News
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games come at a time of escalating political tensions worldwide, setting up the possibility of potential statements being made.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics come at a time when political tensions are rising across the world and while the Games usually see athletes avoid protests, it’s not clear if that will remain the case this year.
According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the mission of the Olympic Games is “to take action to strengthen the unity of the Olympic Movement, to protect its independence, to maintain and promote its political neutrality and to preserve the autonomy of sport.”
But with the world in the midst of what Prime Minister Mark Carney called a global “rupture,” with multiple recent crises across finance, health, energy and geopolitics, could this be the year that norm of neutrality at the Olympics gets tossed aside?
“It is an interesting scenario and one that can go either way,” Julie Stevens, professor in the department of sport management at Brock University, said in a written statement.
“Will the norms of the Olympic institution hold well enough to maintain decorum and respect by all, or will the geopolitical pressures generate a climate where unrestrained self-expression spills over among fans in the venues, those on social media, and the media at large?”
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