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A chaotic scene unfolded in Milan on Saturday as police deployed water cannons and tear gas against protesters just steps from an Olympic ice hockey rink.
A group known as the Unsustainable Olympics Committee has organized protests highlighting concerns about the environmental, economic and social impact of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.
Demonstrators also protested the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Italy, the Associated Press reported.
The clash with police took place near Milan’s Santagiulia ice hockey arena, a newly built venue that has come under scrutiny due to construction delays and issues with the rink’s size.
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Fireworks explode during clashes between police and protesters trying to block a road leading to the Santagiulia ice hockey arena on the day of a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters/Claudia Greco)
Global Guardian, an international security company, issued a travel alert on Saturday, according to AP.
“Heightened security and associated disruptions should be expected in the affected area over the next few hours,” the security alert said. “Draw around the route. Avoid all demonstrations.”
The alert also said at least five people were taken into custody.
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A group of masked protesters were seen throwing smoke bombs and firecrackers onto a bridge overlooking a construction site about a half-mile from the Olympic Village. An estimated 1,500 athletes will be accommodated at the Olympic Village for this year’s Games.
Fireworks explode near a police water cannon used against protesters who tried to block a road leading to the Santagiulia ice hockey arena on the day of a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane)
Police vans behind a temporary metal fence secured the road leading to the athletes’ village, but protesters turned around, continuing their apparent route to the Santagiulia venue. A strong police presence guarded the entire route.
Police vehicles converge as fireworks go off on February 7, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
There is no indication that the protest and resulting road closures disrupted the transfer of athletes to their events, all held in the Milan suburbs.
At a larger peaceful protest, which police said numbered around 10,000 people, people carried cardboard cutouts of trees cut down to build the new bobsleigh track in Cortina. A group of dancers played to the beat of drums. Music was played from a truck at the head of the march, including a profanity-laced anti-ICE anthem.
“Let’s take back the cities and free the mountains,” read an unsustainable Olympic Committee banner. Another group called the Association of Proletarian Excursionists organized the tree cutting.
