Games chief happy at halfway mark despite rocky preparations

MILAN, Feb 14 : The Milano Cortina Olympics reached the halfway mark on Saturday, having avoided any major crisis so far, leaving organisers enjoying strong ticket sales and increased viewership despite rocky years of preparation to get the Games ready.

While past Olympics have traditionally struggled with teething problems or more serious issues that have affected venue operations or even a lack of atmosphere, the Games in Italy have so far gone off largely without a hitch, with ticket sales currently at 85 per cent, or 1.27 million sold, and Italy earning medal after medal on the snow and ice.

The European time zone has also meant a rise in viewership both across the continent and the key market of North America, compared to the previous two winter editions held in Asia.

U.S. rights holder NBCUniversal sold out advertising spots for the Games a month before they started, the company said in January.

MOST SPREAD-OUT GAMES IN HISTORY

For the hosts, the success of local athletes on the fields of play was crucial to shore up domestic support and interest. Italian athletes have delivered in spades, on Saturday sitting second in the rankings behind Norway, who are largely expected to top the table at the end of the Games.

"We know that this is not a walk in the park and that many things can happen that are outside our control," Games CEO Andrea Varnier told a press conference on Saturday. "We believe Milano Cortina has done an excellent job. The less people talk about us, the better we have done our job." 

Among the highlights for organisers of the most spread-out Games in history - with Milan and the mountain clusters in Cortina, Bormio, Livigno and Val di Fiemme stretching across a large part of northern Italy - are the sold-out