The Milano Cortina 2026 emblem, named “Futura,” is the official mark of the XXV Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic Winter Games, which will be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The emblem was unveiled on 30 March 2021 after being selected through the first public online vote in Olympic history, receiving nearly 75 percent of more than 870,000 votes cast from 169 countries. [1]
Design and History
The Futura emblem is a stylized rendering of the number 26, drawn as a single continuous line that crosses over itself to form the digits two and six. [2] The design was developed by the branding agency Landor Associates, which also created the alternative “Dado” proposal that lost the public vote. [2] Both finalist emblems were revealed during the final night of the Sanremo Music Festival on 6 March 2021, presented by Italian Olympic icons Federica Pellegrini and Alberto Tomba. [3]
The emblem was conceived as a mark “only apparently” white on white, with the number 26 traced as if drawn by a finger on snow or a misted window. [4] The organizing committee described the design as a “single, spontaneous gesture” intended to convey the idea that small gestures can change the world. [5] Advanced 3D design techniques were applied to recreate the most realistic possible effect of a mark traced in snow while maximizing its visibility. [4]
The emblem was designed to be producible in a sustainable way, such as perforated, engraved or embossed, minimizing the use of ink and therefore its environmental impact. [4] The words “Milano Cortina 2026” and the Olympic Rings or Paralympic Agitos complete the emblem at the bottom. [3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Futura emblem was intended to symbolically represent the foundational values of the 2026 Games: economic, social and environmental sustainability, inclusion and innovation. [1] The organizing committee stated that the design raises the theme of the fragility of the planet and the idea that every single small gesture by each of us can contribute to preserving it. [4]
For the Olympic version, the number 26 is rendered in an ice-white color on a white background. [6] The organizers noted that since white is the sum of all colors, it contains an explicit reference to parity and inclusion. [4]
The Paralympic version of the emblem uses the same design but explodes into multiple colors, with the white of the Olympic design transforming into different shades. [7] The red, blue and green colors are identified with the Agitos, the symbol of the Paralympic Games. [1] The colors also reference the Aurora Borealis, a rare natural phenomenon that occasionally appears over the Dolomites of Cortina, with the specific hues drawn from an aurora captured in 2002 in the sky over Cortina. [1]
Typography and Design
The emblem’s design concept of a gesture traced on a frosted window also influenced the development of a proprietary font for the Games brand. [5] The organizing committee’s internal design team, led by brand identity director Raffaella Paniè, developed the broader visual identity around the emblem’s gesture-based concept. [8] The brand personality was described as “vibrant, dynamic, and contemporary,” with the Italian spirit as a guiding principle across all brand assets. [8]
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