FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2021 in Cortina confirmed

In a conference call meeting today, the FIS Council confirmed that the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Cortina, Italy will take place as originally scheduled from February 9-21, 2021.

At the last FIS Council meeting on May 25, the Italian Winter Sport Federation (FISI) submitted a request to postpone the World Championships until the 2022 season as a consequence of the host region suffering tremendous impact from the COVID-19 outbreak. The town of Cortina and the Veneto region of Italy was one of the earliest and hardest hit, causing unprecedented financial implications for the local and national business community and the general population. 

Since the request, the broader “FIS family” has come together to support the Italian Winter Sport Federation, actively collaborating to find a solution that the Cortina 2021 World Championships could be staged as originally scheduled, according to the federation.

“We are happy that we could find a solution that the Cortina 2021 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will be staged in during the originally planned period in February 2021 to take their place as one of the highlights of the FIS winter season calendar,” said FIS President Gian Franco Kasper. “The last month of efforts to come to this solution demonstrates the strong collaborative spirit of the ski family and stakeholders involved to enable this important decision to be reached”

“FISI has worked the last five years in close collaboration with all the stakeholders involved in the World Championships in Cortina,” said FISI President Flavio Roda. “It was clear after speaking to them in the last weeks, there was a strong desire to carry out the event in 2021 and to put all resources available to ensure that the World Championships are carried out at the highest level. Based on this feedback and the clear commitment of all parties, FISI expressed to the FIS Council the importance of these World Championships to be staged in 2021 as a positive signal for the entire country of Italy.”

The FIS Alpine World Ski Championships are a very important event for the International Ski Federation and the member National Ski Associations during the two-year cycle, as well as numerous stakeholders. This applies to the promotion for the sport and the athletes and the financial aspects, visibility and National Ski Association sponsors, in addition to the Championships broadcast right holders, sponsors and partners. 

Release courtesy of FIS.