Chiara Appendino is a supporter of the potential Turin Olympic bid ©Getty Images

A major dispute has broken out in Turin between Mayor Chiara Appendino and council opponents over the city's potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Appendino, a vocal supporter of the possible bid, is facing a growing wave of opposition from colleagues in her Five Star Movement (M5S) party.

Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports that the Mayor even threatened to resign three times in a tense six hour meeting last night in which the administration struggled to reach a consensus.

It came on the eve of a meeting between Appendino and Giancarlo Giorgetti, the undersecretary and a close ally of Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, as the Government begin a process to decide which city to support out of Milan, Turin and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Appendino and her allies have put forward a Turin model built around zero debts and existing venues mostly used at the 2006 Winter Olympics which, they claim, would be more attainable than the alternatives.

"I understand that there can be different ideas but a Government M5S can not revive the proposal of Turin that is better than others like that of Milan," Turin Minister of Infrastructure Danilo Toninelli told Radio Anch'io. 

He claimed that the Turin proposal "is sustainable and non-cementing and will save Italy by re-using structures from previous Olympics", adding that the bid is very different from the Rome effort for the 2024 Summer edition derailed by the city's Five Star administration last year. 

Turin is considering bidding to host the Winter Olympics for the second time this century ©Getty Images
Turin is considering bidding to host the Winter Olympics for the second time this century ©Getty Images

Milan, however, is thought to be the preferred choice of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and has the added advantage of never having hosted the Games before. 

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has emphasised how his city "would not do controversy" and would be a less contentious choice.

There is also a possibility for the two cities to join forces and share venues - such as a Milan-led effort using Turin's sliding centre - but this also appears far from straightforward.

The three Italian bids must all present feasibility studies by July 3.

A choice is then expected to be made by CONI on July 10.

They hope to make this decision on consultation with the Government but have vowed to make their preference by then regardless. 

Graz in Austria, Calgary in Canada, Sapporo in Japan, Erzurum in Turkey and Stockholm in Sweden are other cities still bidding for the 2026 Games.

A final decision is set to be made next year.