“The proposal does not have the support of the government so it dies here,” Italy’s sports minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told parliament.
“Doubt and suspicion prevailed.
“I think that with an important thing like an Olympic bid, a spirit of agreement must prevail and I have not found that in the three cities.”
Veneto Governor Luca Zaia and Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana, however, proposed staging a two-way bid led by Milan and Cortina, without Turin, so Italy could still host the event.
“Having come this far, it would be unthinkable to throw it all out the window now,” Zaia and Fontana, who are League members like Giorgetti, said in a joint statement.
“The bid should be saved, which is why we are willing to carry forward this challenge together.”
Giorgetti said the plan would not have government backing.
Italy’s deputy prime ministers, Luigi Di Maio of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and Matteo Salvini of the League, voiced their dismay at the failure of the three-way bid.
“The blame is on the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) for lack of courage,” Di Maio said.
“It would be a shame to squander such an opportunity,” Salvini added.
The announcement marks the third time in six years that Italy’s plan to host the Olympics has ended in failure.
Rome pulled out of the race to stage both the 2020 and the 2024 Summer Games due to financial reasons and political opposition respectively.
Three cities have already pulled out of the 2026 race: Japan’s Sapporo, Switzerland’s Sion and Austria’s Graz.
Canada’s Calgary, the Swedish capital of Stockholm and Turkey’s Erzurum are the only three cities left in the running.
