In the sponsors' pavilions, work is underway until the very last minute: from Friday onwards, they will be open to everyone.

Ice and Fun was presented at CityLife, Casa Esselunga will be located inside the Castle, and Technogym is launching the "Let's Move Milano & Cortina" project on Via Durini.

Despite the fact that the official start of the Games is now just two days away, many of the attractions designed to engage residents and tourists remain shrouded in mystery.

Free to access and located at key points throughout the city, the Fondazione Milano Cortina has arranged these initiatives along what it calls The Olympic Boulevard: a route that runs from the Central Station to the cauldron at the Arco della Pace, passing through the heart of Milan. Walking along this route, the feeling is that of a city center in constant motion, where the workers' toil seems to evoke a race against time to complete the construction sites before the start of the Games.

On the streets, you can constantly spot volunteers in uniform, Olympic staff, decorations on trams, and tourists, many of whom pause curiously at the installations already visible or the work being completed.

In front of the Centrale, in Piazza Duca d'Aosta, the large, illuminated flowers of the TCL pavilion, the Games' technological partner, capture the attention of passersby even before the inauguration on Friday: some stop to observe and some take selfies, while inside you can glimpse the screen that will be used to let fans ski with their idols using virtual reality. "Unfortunately, it's not open to the public yet," the security guard says to a couple of tourists at the entrance. This looks set to be one of the busiest spots on the Boulevard, thanks in part to its strategic location and the constant flow of people arriving and departing from the station. Just steps away is one of Milano Cortina's six official stores scattered around the city, where tourists can already be seen popping in to purchase their first souvenirs of the event.

Continuing toward the center, the atmosphere is the same: construction sites and passersby slowing down to peek at what's taking shape. Between San Babila and Piazza San Carlo, work is underway to set up installations for some of the key partners of the Games, which will open on Friday. On one side, the Omega pop-up store, the official timekeeper of the Olympics since 1932; on the other, ITA Airways, with hubs dedicated to sound, movement, and speed, where workers are still operating panels that are still being assembled.

A little further on, on Via Durini, the Technogym store is already open to visitors and represents one of the few fully operational spaces. "Lots of tourists come these days," says one of the employees, pointing to the eight torches displayed inside the store. In Piazza dei Mercanti, amidst the scaffolding and tents covering the construction site, you can glimpse what, also on Friday, will be the "impossible gym" of Eli Lilly, the American pharmaceutical company that has decided to raise awareness about obesity with impossible-to-use fitness equipment.

The sense that the Boulevard is rapidly taking shape is echoed as you move towards the area of the Sforza Castle and Sempione Park, where, wrapped in plastic, you can glimpse the installations of Alibaba, Stellantis, Esselunga, and Coca-Cola. Rounding out the itinerary are areas designed for younger fans, such as the Fan Village opening in Piazza del Cannone, which help reinforce the idea of a city preparing to experience the Games as a participatory experience, but still needs time.

Link to the website: https://milano.repubblica.it/c...