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Several banners and signs had a minus sign next to “Olimpiadi [Olympics]” and a plus sign alongside “sport di base”, which means grassroots sport.
Increases in rent, which were purportedly worsened by the higher demand from the Olympics, were a black mark against the 2026 Games, according to protesters whom this masthead spoke with.
Jessica Todaro, a unionist from the CUB (Confererazione Unitaria di Base), said she didn’t oppose the Olympics, but was protesting what she saw as organisers’ mismanagement, and the exploitation of hotel workers during this period.
Unionist Jessica Todaro at the protest against the Winter Olympics in Milan.Credit: Jake Niall
“In general we do support the Olympics, as a means of peace between people, especially wartimes,” Todaro said of her union group.
“These Winter Olympics have been turned into a money-making machine – it is an Olympics of millionaires … The rates of the hotels are going up. But the wages are not going up at all … the problem is how the Olympics are being managed. The Olympics must be managed in a way that gives back to the city we’re in.
“We think it hasn’t been managed well because it’s only worsened a problem that was already there. It is a very luxurious event, very pricey event, all the luxurious hotels have been earning lots and lots of money. The poor people working there are still poor.”
Police officers at the protest.Credit: Getty Images
The local pro-Palestine movement – which stages weekly protests in Milan – was prominent with flags and chants of “free Palestine” in both Italian and English.
Vincenzo Strambio, an older pro-Palestine marcher who was not part of the official Palestine group, took issue with Israel’s participation in the Games when Russian athletes were not given the imprimatur of their country due to the Ukraine war. Another marcher objected to one of the Games’ sponsors with links to Israel.
There were banners bearing the hammer and sickle – a communist symbol – some for a political party called “Rifundazione Communista”, which translates as the Communist Restoration Party (an offshoot of the former Italian Communist Party).
The march was slow in pace, yet long in duration, stretching from 3pm until dark, which is when the denouement came through the fireworks and tear gas.
A protester objects to the costs of staging the Winter Olympics in Milan.Credit: Getty Images
Police, who were equipped with riot gear – and backed up by the Carabinieri, Italy’s military police – had walked ahead of the protesters, keeping themselves about 100 metres away from the action until they reached a ring road where they drew their line in the bitumen.
This distance between the police and protest kept any violence or confrontation at bay until the evening.
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This might not be the final protest against the Olympics, either. Marchers suggested that there would be another one in Verona, about 150 kilometres from Milan, on the final day of the Games.
There was also widespread rail disruption for those travelling to the Winter Olympics on Saturday, as London’s The Telegraph reported that Italian police were investigating three separate incidents of sabotage.
The Winter Olympic Games will be broadcast on the 9Network, 9Now and Stan Sport.
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