Italy has unveiled a sweeping security operation for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, to be coordinated through a single command hub known as the International Olympic Operations Room, or SOIO.
Based in Rome, the SOIO will operate around the clock from the opening of the Games on Friday, linking directly with the international operations room and police headquarters in Bolzano, Milan, Sondrio, Trento, Venice and Verona, police said in a statement.
Officers from foreign police forces, along with Interpol and Europol personnel, will also be deployed to ensure rapid information sharing and coordinated responses to any incidents requiring international cooperation.
Authorities described the Games as one of the most complex security challenges Italy has faced, with events spread across two main hubs, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, and additional competitions staged throughout northern mountain regions.
The Olympics will feature about 3,500 athletes and run from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. The government expects roughly 2 million visitors, including about 60,000 spectators for the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium.
Police said snipers will also be deployed to oversee security for the Olympics and related events, positioned at elevated points across designated red zones where access is tightly controlled.
Authorities will also deploy dog units and bomb disposal teams to secure Olympic venues, including by carrying out security sweeps, police said.
The security plan includes stepped-up checks at railway stations and border crossings.
Security measures will be particularly tight in Milan, where a series of protests are expected starting Thursday along the route of the Olympic torch relay over the Games’ economic and environmental impact.
On Friday, the city center will be designated a red zone, closed to both vehicles and pedestrians, with offices and commercial premises shut.
Around Olympic sites in the city, authorities have established three concentric screening perimeters monitored by several hundred cameras. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the operation will, for the first time at a major event in Italy, include a 24-hour cybersecurity control room.
Police have also deployed 24-hour security around Milan hotels that will host U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, International Olympic Committee members, several royals, and staff from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
