Winter Olympic logo for Milan Cortina 2026 revealed following public vote

The design is a “simple gesture of sustainability and inclusion”, according to 2026 organisers, and is the first Olympic logo ever to be chosen by popular vote.

The logo for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo has been revealed.

The design features the numbers two and six which are drawn in a single traced line. It is a “simple gesture of sustainability and inclusion”, according to organisers.

The Olympic logo. Image from Milano Cortina 2026 YouTube

870,000 votes for “Futura”

“Futura” design, as the logo has been called, is the first Olympic logo to be chosen by popular vote.

More than 870,000 votes were cast during the competition, according to Milan Cortina 2026 organisers speaking at an online press conference to reveal the winner. Futura was the clear public favourite, with almost 75% of the votes.

According to organisers, Futura is a logo that represents the idea that small gestures can change the world, and that the “future is a victory for all”.

Futura beat out the other option, “Dado”, a logo that also featured a reference the 2026 date, but aimed to encapsulate the idea that “spectators can become protagonists of Milan Cortina 2026”.

A nod to the Aurora Borealis

The sleek one-stroke design will be used to represent both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2026.

For the Winter Olympics, the logo will appear in a silver colourway, locked up with the stylised Milano Cortina wordmark.

The Winters Paralympic Games will also feature this lock-up, but will use the red, blue and green colours associated with the Agitos, the symbol of the Paralympics.

Commenting on the new logo, Paralympic officials say the emblem “bursts into colour”, with the hues also giving a nod to the physical process of refraction and the Aurora Borealis, which on rare occasions can be seen from the Cortina Dolomites.

The Paralympic logo. Image from Milano Cortina 2026 YouTube

“A dynamic and modern design that reflects fundamental values”

The two events sharing the same logo (though in different colourways) follows in the footsteps of the Paris 2024 Olympic logo, which was the first to use the same logo for both the Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Beyond this, recent Olympic and Paralympic logos have been pushing the boundaries in other ways. Last year, organisers for the 2028 LA Olympic Games revealed an “ever-changing” logo, with each iteration co-designed with different celebrities.

Speaking of the new logo, Milan Cortina 2026 Coordination Commission chairperson Sari Essayah says: “Influenced by the themes of sport, solidarity and sustainability, Futura illustrates a dynamic and modern design that reflects fundamental values of the Olympic and the Paralympic Winter Games.”


What do you think of the logos? Let us know in the comments below…

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  • fulvio ferrari April 1, 2021 at 10:10 am

    perhaps between the two this is the less ugly … but it still remains an ugly logo, a national-futurist style but without a valid aesthetic link with the graphics of the ski-tourism of the ’30s … (assuming that the concept wanted to have this “nostalgic” reference “with the history of Cortina … otherwise there is only a bad lettering …)

  • Fabio April 7, 2021 at 7:20 pm

    Both options were (are) pretty ugly. However, the Dado one had a way better implementation and a cohesive language across signage, symbols, motion design and such. Obviously in an open vote, voters have no idea of design so they voted the logo. And this one is less ugly than the other (at least the white version, the gradient one I thought was a joke)

    well… logo from contest based on non-expert voting. what can I say? Design principles are overrated

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