Overview
- Thousands marched through Milan on the first full day of the Games, with activists decrying soaring rents and ecological harm tied to Olympic projects.
- A breakaway group of roughly 100 masked protesters set off fireworks and flares and tried to reach roads near the Santagiulia ice hockey venue, prompting police to use water cannon and tear gas.
- Several arrests were reported after the skirmishes, while the larger, family-filled march dispersed without interfering with athlete transport, according to police and local reports.
- Demonstrators carried cardboard cutouts symbolizing trees felled for the new bobsleigh run in Cortina d’Ampezzo, as organizers and the IOC countered that most events use existing venues.
- Separately, investigators are examining suspected sabotage on northern rail lines, including severed cables, a fire at an electrical cabin, and a rudimentary explosive device on the Bologna–Padova route, with officials not ruling out anarchist involvement.