Overview
- The organizing committee removed comedian Massimo Boldi from the torchbearer list after an interview was deemed incompatible with Olympic values.
- The Milano–Cortina foundation defended the relay as a rigorous and inclusive process that applies legal background checks to every nomination.
- CONI president Luciano Buonfiglio said the committee chose athletes within its remit and explained that roughly half of the torchbearers were named by sponsors and about 30% by local authorities.
- Italian Paralympic Committee president Marco Giunio De Sanctis said he changed some proposed names to prioritize leading Paralympic champions and assigned key ceremony roles.
- Political attention and criticism persist, with coverage noting that the torchbearer dispute is being used to highlight wider concerns over venue delays and the foundation’s finances.