Sala and Cortina d’Ampezzo Mayor Gianpietro Ghedina received the Olympic Handover Flag during the Closing Ceremony of the Games here yesterday.

Like last year's Tokyo 2020 Olympics, the Winter Olympics in Beijing were staged against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, with organisers implementing a series of countermeasures to reduce the risk of transmission.

A "closed-loop management system" was put in place by Beijing 2022, which separated Games participants from the local population.

Those inside the loop had to undergo daily COVID-19 testing and take designated transport to zones in the three competition zones in Beijing, Yanqing and Zhangjiakou.

Sala said Beijing 2022 had established a "great example" of how to run a Games during a pandemic but hopes Milan Cortina 2026 will not face similar challenges.

"Let’s hope we are going to be luckier in the organising of our events," said Sala.

"Things are very difficult at present.

"What is very important for us is organisation - that’s the key word.

"There has been great organisation here.

"Very complex procedures have been put in place here but for big events you simply cannot afford to improvise.

"I think our Chinese friends have given us a great example of how they actually break things down into simple procedures, so we know exactly what to do.

"We hope that we won’t be in a bubble in a few years' time but you have got to think of situations that we cannot forecast.

"We need to look at how such procedures are being handled in Beijing."

Milan Cortina 2026 President Giovanni Malagò was forced to go into quarantine in Beijing after testing positive for COVID-19 following his arrival in the Chinese capital.

Malagò said his isolation meant he was unable to go to some of the events he had planned to watch but Milan Cortina 2026 confirmed that a 40-strong team attended Beijing 2022 to see first-hand the running of the Games.

"There were no doubts that these Olympic Games were going to be different, more different from Tokyo," said Malagò.

"I would have never expected that they would have been even more different due to my personal experience [in Beijing].

"For the Organising Committee here this is the most complicated situation to handle, but I can honestly say that if it were not for China organising them, the Olympics would have never taken place.

"We have to accept all these rules and regulations, because without these the Olympics would have been at serious risk.

"And it would have turned [out] to be tragic, especially for athletes, but also for the sponsors and the media."

Malagò, head of the Italian National Olympic Committee, was also impressed by the performance of Italy’s athletes in Beijing as they claimed two golds, seven silvers and eight bronzes.

Short track speed skater Arianna Fontana and curlers Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner were Italy’s two gold medallists.

"At the Games you have to perform on that day, on that hour, on that moment without any ifs or buts," added Malagò.

"The prestige of Italy and of the Italian National Olympic Committee is now undeniable.

"We won’t stop here.

"Our goal now is to do even better.

"Our country in sports enjoys the highest recognition from the International Federations, the National Olympic Committees, the International Olympic Committee, and we are very proud of this."