With the Games now less than three years away, the meeting was an opportunity for the OBS, the Milan Cortina 2026 Organising Committee and the MRHs to convene in person for the first time.

They visited select competition venues and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC), while also discussing the progress of the Games' preparations and the development of the broadcast operation and coverage plan.

The MRHs were welcomed with a video welcome message from Malagò, who added: "Today we all need these stories, we need something that binds us even more, something that reminds us how sport can be at the service of the humanity and make the world better.

"We need this energy."

Following Olympic Agenda 2020’s recommendation to prioritise the use of existing facilities, Milan Cortina 2026 is due to be held across Northern Italy's territories, making the most of their passion for winter sports, their experience at organising events, the natural beauty of the Italian Alps and Milan’s creativity, innovation and culture.

The MRHs then left Milan for the mountain region of Valtellina.

Their first destination was Livigno, a highly acclaimed winter sports destination and the Olympic venue for all freestyle ski and snowboard events.

The broadcasters then visited Bormio, which is set to host the men's alpine skiing competition on the legendary Stelvio slope.

The same slope will play host to the introduction of ski mountaineering  to the Olympic programme.

On the second day of the venue tour, the Milan cluster was the focus, with the first stop being the Milano Convention Centre.

Situated in the City Life district, a newly developed area in the north-west of the city, this facility is the largest exhibition centre in Europe and is set to be transformed into the Main Media Centre for the Olympics, due to take place between February 6 and 22, and the Paralympics, scheduled for March 6 to 15.  

During the Games, it will house the IBC, offering OBS and the MRHs access to production and technical facilities, as well as a variety of offices and services.

With extensive broadcast coverage planned for the Games, the IBC is set to be a hub of activity and innovation.

Afterwards the broadcasters made their way to the nearby San Siro Stadium, one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world.

This venue will host the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games in 2026.

The venue tour concluded with a visit to Assago Forum.

This existing multi-purpose indoor arena located in the metropolitan area of Milan is set to be reconfigured for the Games with an ice rink to host the figure skating and short track speed skating events.

The MRHs were welcomed to the main session of the World Broadcaster Briefing by Malagò’s video message.

In his opening remarks, OBS chief executive Yiannis Exarchos shared his excitement about having the Games come back to the cradle of winter sports, with the beauty of the Italian Alps serving as a spectacular backdrop for the third time following Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956 and Turin in 2006.

"Not only will these Games be visually captivating thanks to incredible sports venues and territories, but they will certainly redefine broadcasting through the widespread implementation of cloud technologies and other innovative solutions and the significant increase of remote production models," Exarchos said.

Throughout the morning session, OBS updated the broadcasters on their plans to showcase the stories and performances of the world's top athletes.

OBS intends to provide MRHs with greater access to the athletes, including more behind-the-scenes content pre-and post-competition to enhance their multi-platform coverage of the Games.

OBS also provided broadcasters with a detailed technical framework that aims to facilitate their operations on-site and for their remote teams.

As part of this framework, broadcasters will be able to rely on an extended range of cloud-based solutions, which will allow them to transmit their content to their home territories more efficiently.

Milan Cortina 2026 emphasised its commitment to delivering sustainable Games and working with OBS and the rights-holders to ensure their operations run smoothly, despite the challenges caused by the venues being spread across Northern Italy.