Featured Image Credit: Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Europe, World News
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Europe, World News
This is everything we know after a security guard died on an overnight shift in freezing conditions near a 2026 Winter Olympics site.
Authorities have confirmed an investigation was launched after the 55-year-old man died while working at a construction site in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy just weeks before the Games begin.
According to NBC News, the man collapsed while on duty near Cortina’s ice arena during freezing conditions, with temperatures dropping to around -12C (10.4F).
Italian officials have said the death appears to have been caused by natural causes, with Olympic organisers stating the worker likely suffered a heart attack.
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Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances.
Italy’s infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini has called for a full inquiry, while Cortina city officials said they were 'deeply saddened and troubled' by the death.
Organisers also confirmed the construction site was not overseen by Simico, the government-backed company responsible for delivering Olympic infrastructure.
The Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 said all documentation at the site was in order and that it is awaiting the outcome of the investigation.
The incident comes as Italy prepares to host the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics between February 6 and 22, marking the country’s first Winter Games since Turin in 2006.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, a well-known Alpine resort town in northern Italy’s Dolomite mountains, will host curling, sliding sports and women’s Alpine skiing.
Other events will be spread across several locations, including Milan, Livigno and Predazzo, making these the most geographically spread-out Winter Olympics to date.
The opening ceremony will take place at Milan’s San Siro stadium, with organisers announcing performances from tenor Andrea Bocelli and pop star Mariah Carey.
The Queen of Christmas (and therefore, winter... right?) Carey announced the news in a glamorous Instagram video.
She said: "Ci vediamo a Milano!" which translates to: "See you in Milan!"
The ceremony will also include a tribute to legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September aged 91.
Elsewhere, the 2026 Games will make history with the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering, a discipline that involves climbing mountains on skis and then carrying them on steeper ascents before skiing back down at speed.
The Games will also be the first Winter Olympics held under the presidency of Kirsty Coventry, who became president of the International Olympic Committee in 2025.
As preparations continue, the death in Cortina has cast a shadow over the final build-up.