Olympic appetites: The staggering food statistics from the Winter Games
Published: 23 Feb. 2026, 09:28
Updated: 24 Feb. 2026, 08:45
![Italian President Sergio Mattarella eats with Italian athletes during a visit to the Olympic Village at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan on Feb. 5. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/24/c820446c-4f53-4f71-8577-f0bd7e7d1391.jpg)
Italian President Sergio Mattarella eats with Italian athletes during a visit to the Olympic Village at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan on Feb. 5. [AP/YONHAP]
From mountains of pasta to stacks of plates taller than Mount Everest, athletes at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics left behind staggering food statistics at the Olympic Village.
At a closing press conference on Sunday, the organizing committee said athletes ate about 60 kilograms (132 pounds) of cheese, 365 kilograms of pasta and 10,000 eggs per day at the village, along with 8,000 cups of coffee and 12,000 slices of pizza.
They added that if all the plates used during the Games were stacked, they would reach about 60 kilometers (37 miles) in height — roughly 6.8 times the height of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak at 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 feet).
The committee said it took around a year just to finalize the menu. Each day, approximately 4,500 breakfasts, lunches and dinners were served at the Milan village, 4,000 at the Cortina d’Ampezzo village and 2,300 at the Predazzo village.
Ticket sales were also strong. About 1.3 million tickets were sold, marking an 88 percent sales rate. Italian spectators accounted for 37 percent of attendees, while 63 percent came from overseas. Among foreign visitors, the largest share at 15 percent came from Germany, followed by the United States at 14 percent and Britain and Switzerland at 6 percent each.
Ski mountaineering, which made its Olympic debut at the Games, proved the most popular event, with both races selling out. Speed skating and short track recorded 95 percent seat occupancy, while figure skating and ice hockey reached 93 percent.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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