Cortina World Championships prepared to move forward with ‘Plan B’

With less than three weeks until the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship, Cortina 2021 organizers remain confident that they will deliver a safe and secure two-week sporting event.

The world championship was given the green light by the relevant health authorities and government last week, guided by advice from Italy’s Technical Science Committee (CTS). However, as is no surprise considering the current precarious health situation, the races will unfold entirely devoid of spectators, which Cortina 2021 refers to as Plan B.

Still, some 700 athletes and 3500 staff are expected to descend upon the 1956 Winter Olympics resort for the event, Feb. 7-21.

Cortina 2021 chief executive officer Valerio Giacobbi says his team has been anticipating this outcome and can now focus entirely on the health and safety of the athletes and teams, while also innovating an intricate and creative digital strategy to engage fans.

“We have been working on Plan B for many months because obviously the uncertainty that we’ve had since March has been very high,” Giacobbi says, in an interview at the Fondazione Cortina 2021 headquarters.

“We are working on the health and safety, as the highest concern is about the health of everybody – from the athletes to the organizations, the hosts in Cortina, relevant authorities and some of the sponsors.

“As far as the event is concerned, we are proceeding as planned and everything is developing in the right way.

In February, the women will once again speed down the Olympia Della Tofane Piste, the venerable 1956 Olympic slope, which is an annual stop on tour. The men will finally get their first crack at the new Vertigine track, which was expected to be run at last season’s World Cup Finals, before cancelation due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s exciting and the snow situation is very good, so we will obviously implement all the technical aspects in order to have perfect conditions for the athletes,” Giacobbi said. “The scenery is fantastic and there is a lot of snow.

“Our new slope Vertigine will be very exciting and there is also the old Olympia (Delle Tofane), which is loved by the women athletes.

“We will guarantee a good show for the sport that we love – we want to prepare the right theater to perform the show.”

However, considering the uncertainty surrounding the current global health crisis, some modifications will be necessary.

“The only change is the health protocol that would make the athletes experience a little bit different,” Giacobbi said.

“They won’t have the possibility to meet the media and move around freely, and the ceremonies will be a little bit different. The first thing is the sport event, everything is proceeding well and we are very organized.”

Digital and broadcast innovation

Cortina d’Ampezzo and the Italian Dolomites have received abundant snowfall this winter, so viewers should be captivated by a scintillating backdrop as host broadcaster RAI sends images of the “Queen of the Dolomites” around the globe. Some 500 million viewers are expected to watch the championship.

Complementing the international television broadcast, Giacobbi notes, that in the absence of spectators, Cortina 2021 is striving to raise the bar and provide fans with unprecedented behind the scenes, creative digital content to fully showcase the event.

“For those people who cannot be here, we will give them a little bit of a 360 degree experience of Cortina,” Giacobbi proudly states. “What we have done is invested more in communication and media.”

Virtual grandstands, a virtual media center, streaming, exclusive content on the Cortina 2021 App, Instagram and Facebook stories, as well as new TV projects including an original Cortina documentary, will be some of the bells and whistles to keep fans up to speed.

“We need to innovate any way we can – we are trying to bring the digital experience to a level that we believe is a good level for an event like this.

“We are developing our App, as well as streaming and particular content, which normally would not be available.

“Also, journalists and media can go and find content that is specialized and can’t be found on the web – interviews, behind the scenes and additional information about Cortina.

Economics of hosting an event without spectators

Giacobbi discusses remedies and solutions to counter the financial hit that Cortina, surrounding hotels, restaurants and local businesses will face with a two-week championship without spectators.

“The organizing committee is losing all revenues from 120,000 people that we were expecting, buying tickets and merchandize,” notes the Cortina 2021 CEO. “An important part of our revenue is lacking.

“For the sponsors, it’s less appealing and they are a little bit unhappy as they were hoping to build upon the presence of the people.

“The solution is we’ve reduced some costs – we’ve asked for help from the authorities, and the region and the government came up with some finances.

“Our objective is still to have an event that is not going to lose money. We are looking at the equilibrium between revenue and costs, so this is important.”

Despite the economic concerns and desire to appease sponsors, Cortina 2021 announced a new main sponsor on Jan. 19. EA7, the sports brand of Emporio Armani, was unveiled as primary sponsor of the championship.

“Cortina is one of the best locations in the world for skiing competitions and, for us, being present at such an important event not only underlines the spirit of the brand, which encompasses values of passion and fair play, but also sends a message of confidence in these difficult times,” said Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani of the new partnership.

Safety first with finish line in sight

Despite all systems appearing on track for Cortina 2021, uncertainty still remains. FIS chief race director Markus Waldner tested positive for COVID-19 following the Flachau slalom races and immediately went into self-isolation.

The news comes a week after a massive schedule reshuffling due to concerns over the COVID outbreak in Europe, which appears to be getting more serious with cases of the British variant, B.1.1.7, detected in the region. The traditional races in Wengen had to be canceled, along with a rescheduling of the slaloms that were expected in Kitzbuehel, but moved to Flachau. 

Dobbiaco – situated about an hour north of Cortina, where the nearest major hospital in the region is located – has also seen a surge of COVID-19 positives.

“We are talking with and developing protocol with the regional and government health authorities,” Giacobbi informs. “They are both contributing to the rules that we are putting out and, of course, there is also the FIS protocol, so I would say we are all working together.

“It depends on how the situation will evolve over the next few weeks,” Giacobbi says, regarding the need for potential new counter-measures.

“We plan to continue to put together, along with the health authorities, a system that is strongly controlled.

“We are proud of what we are doing because this is the first big event that is happening in this pandemic situation.

“We feel the responsibility – it’s not only Cortina, but also region and Italy, so we represent the entire country and we want to do it well.”

“Yes, we are optimistic,” Giacobbi adds. “I believe things are under control, so I am optimistic that it will be a nice event.”

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