UK Sport: We invest £32m in winter sports because Britain cares deeply Sport Business Milan Cortina and the British public’s appetite for melon grabs and curling showed why UK Sport invested £32.5m in winter sports in this Olympic cycle, says CEO Sally Munday. Watching years of dedication come together in a single run at Milan Cortina earlier this month was extraordinary. Matt Weston’s performance en route to Team GB’s [...]
Olympics should lead way in AI and lighten impossible load on its judges Sport Business If any sporting body has the means to fund investment in AI judging it’s the International Olympic Committee, writes Ed Warner. I’ve no idea whether Zoe Atkin’s “amplitude” deserved to bag silver rather than bronze in the freeski halfpipe on Sunday. All I know is she didn’t wipe out on all three of her three [...]
Deloitte big winner at Winter Olympics as sponsor sees engagement surge Sport Business Big Four accounting firm Deloitte was one of the best performing sponsors at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics based on online engagement. The London-headquartered giant was joined by TCL Technology and Omega SA as the best engaged firms, according to UK engagement. According to research from adtech firm Quantcast, Deloitte enjoyed a 15 per cent [...]
Ukraine invasion anniversary prompts fresh Russia Paralympics ban calls February 24, 2026 Calls for the ban on Russian Paralympians to be reinstated have heightened as the invasion of Ukraine marks its fourth anniversary. The Winter Paralympics is set to begin next week, days after today’s conflict anniversary, with the International Paralympic Committee admitting 10 Russian and Belarusian athletes despite Western outcry. Officials representing host country Italy have [...]
Britain must launch no-brainer 2038 Winter Olympics bid February 22, 2026 What strikes you when attending the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics is not just the spectacle, but the structure. Multiple cities. Regional clusters. Existing venues reused. An iconic cultural backdrop. These were Games shaped as much by pragmatism and fiscal discipline as prestige. The spread-out model may have muted the traditional host-city buzz, but Milano Cortina [...]
Nearly 100 per cent of sport organisations plan to increase AI use February 19, 2026 Nearly 100 per cent of sports organisations plan to increase their use of AI in the next year, according to the 2026 Global SportsTech Report. The data comes as artificial intelligence’s presence across sport has increased monumentally over recent seasons. The study, undertaken by SportsPro and Sportradar using sports organisations across the industry, states that [...]
I went to the Winter Olympics but I found Milan shrugging its shoulders February 19, 2026 Milan is parading its beauty at the Winter Olympics. The sun is out, the centuries-old streets are majestic and pristine. Prada, Gucci and Ralph Lauren logos plaster every corner, and there is no shortage of Michelin Guide restaurants. It’s no surprise that London has been haemorrhaging non-doms and wealthy investors to this glorious metropolis. But [...]
IOC looks tin-eared at best, cruel at worst over Ukraine helmet saga February 19, 2026 The reputations of the IOC and its president Kirsty Coventry have suffered badly from its handling of the Ukraine helmet row at the Winter Olympics, says Ed Warner. Are you not entertained? The Winter Olympics have delivered stories ranging from the titillating (penile injections, condom shortages and a narcissistic declaration of infidelity) to the enraging [...]
Russians at Paralympics opens door for LA28 Olympics return, expert warns February 18, 2026 Allowing Russian athletes to compete in the Paralympics under their national flag opens up the same opportunities at the next Olympic Games, according to geopolitical experts. Six Russian and four Belarusian athletes will be able to compete under their native flags at the upcoming Paralympic Games in Milan after the International Paralympic Committee lifted its [...]
How the business of photographing the Winter Olympics has changed February 18, 2026 Getty Images’ Ken Mainardis takes us through how the business of snapping the Winter Olympics has changed over time. Picture this – you hoist a 20kg bag of camera equipment onto your back and ski down an Olympic course to lie down in the snow and wait for hours for competition to start, all so [...]