Cortina’s 50s throwback

Friday’s Winter Olympic Opening Ceremony promises a festival of glitz and glamour somewhat removed from the world of sport.

But it wasn’t always like that. Cortina d’Ampezzo, this year’s co-host, held the 1956 edition. And, 70 years ago, things were very different. TV was in its infancy and this would be the first time any Olympic tournament would be televised. The media cohort was tiny: the entire Soviet newspaper delegation amounted to three people for the whole Games; by 2014, I was one of four writers and two photographers covering the ice hockey tournament for a single website.

Footage from the ’56 Opening Ceremony shows how things have changed - from image quality to the simplicity of the earlier spectacle.

The ice arena in Cortina still stands. Around the walls you can find plaques honouring medallists from the Games – and especially the Soviet hockey team that took gold in its Olympic debut.

The Russians played on a rink that was open to the elements, with fans huddling into a wooden arena. Those wooden stands are still there, albeit protected by an elegantly designed roof the drops to a glass frontage. The Olympic torch, set to be reignited this week, is still visible. Many of the old wooden benches remain in use in the upper tier, although the former terraces have been plugged with plastic bucket seats.

It’s a sporting throwback. In 2016 I had the chance to visit during the qualification process for the hockey tournament at the PyeongChang Games. The roof was relatively new, completed in 2009, and this was the first international tournament played on Cortina’s ice for many years.

Although the competing teams – Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Serbia – had little hope of making it to the Games, it was still a thrill for the players.

Italian forward Alexander Gellert was on SG Cortina’s team at the time of the tournament. But playing international hockey on his home rink was a special moment for him.

“I’m lucky to get to play in such a great building,” he said. “It means a lot for Cortina to host an international competition again. A lot of people still remember 1956 and this is a town that loves hockey and winter sports. We’ve had a top-league team for some years but an international tournament is a different level again.”

Olympic hockey won’t be returning to the Dolomites. This year’s tournament, with its NHL stars, is played in purpose-built arenas in Milan. The run-up to the first face-offs was full of familiar stories of last-minute panic to apply the finishing touches to the arenas.

Instead, Cortina will host snow and sliding sports. Hockey and figure skating are happening in Milan, but the Cortina arena will stage the curling competitions – and should get plenty of UK air time as Britain has genuine medal hopes in that battle of stones and sweeping.

Most ice modern ice rinks tend to be relatively characterless venues, so competing in Cortina promises to be something a bit special for the 2026 curlers.

That was something not lost on British hockey player Josh Batch when he played there 10 years ago. “It’s a great rink,” he said. “It’s got more of a retro feel, but that makes it really cool with all the wooden bleachers and stuff.”

Amid the overblown Opening spectacle, there’s something satisfying about Cortina’s 50s throwback playing its part in the latest chapter of the Olympic story.