World Cup Finals Fan Ban Due To Coronavirus

Due to the outbreak and continuing spread of situation with the Novel Coronavirus in Northern Italy, skiers in the World Cup Finals in Italy next month will be competing in front of empty stands. 

FIS event director Markus Waldner told public broadcaster SVT "As it stands Cortina is still where the competition will be held, but with no fans,” he went on to say, “This could change in the coming days.” implying a possible relocation.

The World Cup Finals are scheuled to held between March 18-22 in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Cortina was the host for the 1956 Winter Olympic games and Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 successfully bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The IOC selected Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo to host the 2026 Winter Olympics at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 24, 2019.

This comes on the heels of the decision to hold this weekend's La Thuile races with limited spectators. The majority of Italian Regional Authorities have taken the decision to cancel and postpone public including sports events, however this does not apply to the Aosta region, in which La Thuile is located where there are no recorded cases.

Consequently the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) and its La Thuile Local Organising Committee in agreement with FIS can confirm that the women’s Audi FIS World Cup races scheduled for 29th February- 1st March 2020 will go ahead as scheduled.

As a precaution in the interests of public health, the races this weekend will be staged with limited spectators.

The Italian athletes and teams are under permanent control and supervision of the FISI medical staff in order to guarantee their welfare.