RIOT POLICE CLASH WITH ANTI-OLYMPICS PROTESTERS IN MILAN
Thousands of people marched through Milan on Saturday in protest against the Winter Olympics, with a small number setting off fireworks and clashing with police in riot shields.
Demonstrators fired flares and threw stones at police, who dispersed them with water cannon following an otherwise peaceful march the day after the opening ceremony in the northern Italian city.
The police had been on high alert after violent clashes during a protest in Turin last weekend in which over 100 officers were injured.
Protesters had earlier held up banners slamming a range of issues, from the use of artificial snow and tree felling, to a housing crisis in the country’s financial and fashion capital.
“The Games are no longer sustainable from an environmental or a social point of view, their time is up,” 29-year-old protester Francesca Missana told AFP.
Critics of the Winter Olympics complain about the impact of infrastructure on fragile mountain environments, as well as the widespread energy and water-intensive use of artificial snow.
Others say host city Milan has become unliveable for many, with locals squeezed by soaring costs amid an influx of wealthy new residents attracted by a tax scheme.
“These Games were promoted as sustainable and cost-neutral,” complained Alberto di Monte, one of the organisers of the march, which was called by unions, housing-rights groups and activists.
But with these being one of the most geographically dispersed Games in history – unfolding in several sites spread across the Italian Alps – billions were spent to build roads rather than protect the mountains, Di Monte told AFP.
And meanwhile, Milan has been transformed into a “pleasant Disneyland for tourists”, hosting a string of major events but neglecting its residents, he said.
“Let’s take back the city, free the mountains!” read one protester’s banner, while another with a picture of a drop of water read: “The Olympics are drying me out.”
Demonstrator Giovanni Gaiani, 69, slammed the decision to cut down hundreds of trees to make the contested Milan-Cortina bobsleigh track.
Fellow protesters held up dozens of cardboard trees, before spreading them out over the ground as if lying where they were felled.
“Free mountain, less ICE, more glacier,” read another banner.
There has been anger in Italy over the presence of some agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE as part of security for the American delegation.
Police with riot helmets could be seen on standby near the demonstration, where some protesters marched waving Palestinian flags.
Team GB welcomes athletes speaking out
Team GB have welcomed athletes speaking out on politics and social issues after one of the team launched a stinging attack on the United States ICE agency.
Gus Kenworthy, a British-American model and actor, who has come out of retirement to appear for Team GB in freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, posted the message “F--- iCE” in urine on his Instagram account on Wednesday.
With protesters taking to the streets of Milan to demonstrate against the presence of ICE agents at the Winter Olympics ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony, Kenworthy called on Americans to lobby their senators over the “unchecked power” of the organisation since Donald Trump returned to power.
Rule 50 of the Olympic charter seeks to protect the neutrality of sport at the Olympic Games but there is leniency on social media accounts, with personal messaging not regulated.
Katherine Grainger, the gold-medal winning rower who is the chair of the British Olympic Association, said that she supported the athletes’ freedom of expression provided that they did not disturb others or distract from their own performance. “The good thing is we’ve got athletes, and this has changed even since my time, who are more outspoken and have opinions,” she said. “The main thing is to not be disruptive to themselves or to fellow athletes as well.
“So I think any advice around him is of course he will have opinions, and that’s fine, but when it comes to performance, that’s the job you’re here to do, and make sure you’re not distracting anyone or yourself, and be respectful as well. I don’t think any of us have issues with athletes wanting to talk about things that are important.”
After booing at the opening ceremony for the US vice-president JD Vance, as well as some adverse reaction to the Israeli team, the International Olympic Committee also urged fans not to “punish” athletes because they might oppose the actions of their government.
Team GB, meanwhile, are closing on their first medal of the Winter Olympics after the mixed curling team secured a semi-final place with a seventh straight win of the round-robin preliminary phase on Saturday.
The team of Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat beat the United States 6-4 in their latest group match and they will have a chance to win a medal on Monday when the semi-final and a potential bronze medal match will be played. The final is on Tuesday. On what could potentially be a “Magic Monday” for Team GB, Kirsty Muir, who qualified third in the freestyle on Saturday, and snowboarder Mia Brookes are also among the favourites for gold.
“We’re not going to ease up – we’re going to try and keep the momentum rolling,” said Mouat ahead of two more matches on Sunday.
Brookes, who is 19 and already regarded as the world’s best snowboarder and potentially one of the finest ever, is being carefully managed by the British team with minimal media showings. “She’s been on the global stage already and performing amazingly, but the Olympic environment is still new to her and it’s a very different environment,” Grainger said. “I think for every athlete, you try and support with what they need. Some athletes are comfortable on social media; very, very comfortable speaking to anyone and everyone, and you want to welcome and support that. Other athletes need more privacy or want to have less exposure until their competition is over and you respect that.
“She’ll be her happiest when she’s on the slopes. That’s where she’s comfortable, that’s where she’s grown up, that’s her safe place. So I think, when it comes to competition, she will deliver.”
Recommended
Winter Olympics today: Key events in Saturday's schedule and how to watch on TV
2026-02-07T19:50:44Z
