As the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics draws ever closer, a curious trend is emerging across Italy. Despite the event’s global stature, iconic alpine backdrops, and a marketing machine that would make even the most seasoned brand manager envious, Italians are meeting the Olympics with a collective shrug—at least if Google search data is anything to go by.
Avantgrade.com, a leading agency in SEO, SEM, and AI Search, recently published an in-depth analysis tracking the online search behavior of Italians over the past three months, with a special focus on the critical week leading up to February 4, 2026. The findings are as intriguing as they are telling: searches related to the Olympics have only grown moderately and continue to lag well behind expectations for an event of this magnitude. Globally, the picture is even less rosy, with searches for "Olympics winter" and "Olympics" dropping by 2% and 8%, respectively, in the last week alone.
But what’s truly grabbing attention isn’t the low search volume—it’s the nature of what Italians are actually searching for. Rather than flocking online to read about star athletes, medal counts, or the much-anticipated torch relay, the Italian public is laser-focused on something far more immediate: logistics, traffic restrictions, and security concerns in Milan. The Olympic flame may be set to light up the city, but for many locals, the real burning question is whether their daily commute will be thrown into chaos.
In fact, during November and December, Google searches in Italy did show some interest in the timing of the opening ceremony and the Olympic schedule. Yet, as the event itself loomed larger, attention decisively shifted toward practical issues—road closures, the creation of "red zones," and the overall impact on daily urban life. It’s as if the games are happening in the background, while the main event for locals is navigating the city’s new restrictions.
One search term in particular leapt into the national spotlight: “ICE.” But rather than referencing the frozen surfaces of Olympic rinks, this spike was about American police agents, not winter sports. In the week before February 4, 2026, "ICE" soared into the top five trending queries in Italy, underscoring just how much concerns over security and policing have overshadowed the sporting spectacle itself.
It’s a fascinating, if somewhat sobering, lesson in the psychology of public attention. As Ale Agostini, founder of Avantgrade.com, put it, “The Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics are teaching us that attention isn’t won by the grandeur of an event, but by its relevance to people’s lives. The data is clear. Italians aren’t searching for athletes or sports programs. They’re searching to see if they’ll be able to get to work, if their street will be closed, if their city will still feel like their own.”
Agostini went on to draw a parallel with ancient Rome: “As Marcus Aurelius said two thousand years ago, while the emperor planned the games, the people worried about bread. There’s a paradox here that every brand involved in this event should consider: the Winter Olympics are generating little search interest, while Sanremo, a televised music festival, is captivating Italy. It’s not a failure of the Olympics. It’s proof that emotional proximity always beats institutional grandeur.”
Indeed, the contrast with Sanremo, Italy’s beloved annual music festival, is stark. In the sixty days leading up to the Olympics—and especially over the past month—searches for “Sanremo 2026” have consistently outpaced those for “Olimpiadi Milano-Cortina.” Sanremo isn’t global, nor is it a sporting event, but it’s familiar, participatory, and woven into the cultural fabric of everyday Italians. It’s a festival that has, year after year, transformed itself into a platform for brands, conversation, and popular inclusion. The Olympics, by contrast, are being perceived as distant, institutional, and, for now, more a source of disruption than excitement.
For marketers and Olympic sponsors, this disconnect is a wake-up call. The data suggests that simply slapping a logo on an international event and relying on the spectacle of sport is no longer enough. As Agostini warned, “For brands, the lesson is simple: those who communicate about the Olympics only in terms of sport will be speaking to an empty room. Those who address concrete concerns—mobility, security, road closures, and daily impact—will capture the attention that everyone else is chasing in the wrong place.”
It’s a message that should be plastered in every boardroom of companies investing in Milano-Cortina. The risk is clear: limiting brand involvement to mere visibility—logos, hospitality suites, and generic sports storytelling—without translating it into practical value, services, or micro-experiences that genuinely speak to the citizen before the spectator. If the marketing of the Olympics remains stuck in epic narratives and institutional pageantry, it risks missing the mark entirely.
What’s emerging is a new paradigm for event marketing—one that prioritizes integration into daily life over sheer scale. The true value of a major event, according to Avantgrade’s analysis, is no longer found in its exceptionality but in its ability to solve real problems, simplify experiences, and generate trust. The Olympics, far from being a communications failure, have become a case study in the delicate balance between visibility and relevance. The lesson is uncomfortable but essential: if you don’t tap into the real concerns and attention of people, you’re not truly communicating—you’re just talking to yourself.
Even as the world’s eyes turn to Milan and Cortina for two weeks of winter sports glory, the real story on the ground is about how the games intersect with daily routines, urban mobility, and security. It’s a reminder that behind every grand spectacle, it’s the lived experiences of ordinary people that ultimately shape the narrative.
With the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics set to begin, the buzz in Italy is less about gold medals and more about navigating everyday life. For organizers, sponsors, and fans alike, the challenge now is clear: connect with the public where it matters most, or risk being left out in the cold.