Key Takeaways
- ICON Digital Productions Inc. has been Team Canada’s Official Digital and Printing Production Partner since 2023, delivering branded pageantry for multiple Olympic Games.
- For Milano Cortina 2026, ICON produced a wide range of materials—balcony banners, posters, display systems, backdrops, medal walls, and FanFest signage—across six Italian athlete villages and three Canada Olympic House Celebration Series sites.
- Early involvement allowed ICON to assess site conditions, recommend appropriate substrates, and label shipments for efficient, location‑specific distribution.
- Sustainability is a core focus: ICON operates as a zero‑waste‑to‑landfill facility, repurposing items such as Paris 2024 balcony banners for Milano Cortina 2026 and diverting over 93 metric tons of waste from landfill in 2025.
- Despite harsh weather (‑30 °C, 80 km/h winds) during the Toronto FanFest installation, ICON completed the work on schedule, demonstrating reliability and teamwork.
- The coordinated effort ensured a cohesive, immersive Canadian brand experience for athletes, families, and fans both in Italy and across domestic FanFest events.
Overview of the Partnership
When Team Canada athletes entered the Olympic Village, they instantly sensed a familiar, home‑like atmosphere. This feeling was not accidental; it resulted from deliberate branding and pageantry crafted by ICON Digital Productions Inc., the COC’s Official Digital and Printing Production Partner since 2023. ICON translates the committee’s vision into tangible visual elements—stickers, banners, posters, backdrops, and more—that transform generic spaces into celebrations of Canadian pride.
Scope of Work for the Villages
For Milano Cortina 2026, athletes were housed in six clusters across northern Italy: Milan, Livigno, Cortina, Predazzo, Bormio, and Anterselva. Because the Games were spread over multiple locations, the traditional single Canada Olympic House was replaced by a Canada Olympic House Celebration Series held in Cortina, Livigno, and Milan. ICON was responsible for producing all branded assets needed at these villages and celebration sites, ensuring a consistent Canadian identity wherever Team Canada gathered.
Types of Materials Produced
ICON’s production list for the Italy‑based activations was extensive: 150 balcony banners, 450 posters spanning ten versions, 18 QuickStand display systems with matching prints, nine step‑and‑repeat backdrops, and three custom medal walls designed to be updated as Team Canada’s medal count grew. In addition, the domestic FanFest series in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal required 74 transit‑shelter prints, 10,000 postcards, and a full suite of event signage—including wayfinding, stage graphics, pillar wraps, banners, and credentials—demonstrating the partner’s versatility across large‑scale, multi‑venue projects.
Early Engagement and Site Assessment
Recognizing the logistical complexity of serving six distinct villages and three celebration sites, ICON was engaged roughly ten months before the Games. Neil Faulkner, an ICON Account Executive, emphasized that visiting each location in person allowed the team to visualize opportunities, evaluate site conditions, and recommend suitable substrates and installation methods. This ground‑level insight helped anticipate environmental challenges, such as wind exposure on balconies, and logistical constraints like limited storage space.
Strategic Planning and Labeling System
By joining the planning process early, ICON could offer strategic expertise, pinpoint areas for impact, and ensure execution would be both efficient and memorable. Each shipped item carried a detailed production docket featuring a unique identifier, quantity, description, and destination. Skids were organized by location, so on‑site teams could immediately allocate materials without re‑sorting—a system praised by Véronique Labrosse, Team Canada’s Village Lead in Milan, for its clarity and organization.
Sustainability Initiatives
Sustainability emerged as a shared priority. Yena Kim, a COC Games Project Manager, noted the team’s desire to maximize impact while reusing materials across Games. A concrete example is the balcony banners originally printed for Paris 2024, which were repurposed for Milano Cortina 2026 balconies. ICON’s commitment to zero‑waste‑to‑landfill operations—achieved since 2024—means that over 90 % of project waste is diverted via recycling, reuse, or energy recovery. In 2025 alone, the company diverted approximately 93.6 metric tons of waste from landfill, underscoring its role in promoting circular production practices for large‑scale events like the Olympics.
Paris 2024 as a Precedent
The Milano Cortina 2026 effort built on the foundation laid at Paris 2024, where ICON delivered hundreds of branded elements: interior and exterior vinyl graphics, window and floor graphics, fabric backdrops, custom locker components, and interactive display installations for the Olympic Village, the Canada Olympic House, and multiple FanFest weekend events. Those projects established the trust and workflow that enabled the larger, more distributed Italian campaign.
Logistics and Shipping Excellence
Shipping a high volume of diverse items to six Italian villages and three celebration sites posed a potential nightmare. ICON turned it into a streamlined operation by labeling every piece and grouping shipments by destination. Each dedicated skid arrived with its corresponding production docket, allowing on‑site staff to quickly place banners, posters, and signage without confusion. Labrosse highlighted this organization as a key factor in the smooth setup of the villages.
FanFest Installation Under Extreme Conditions
One memorable showcase of ICON’s resilience occurred during the Toronto FanFest event at Nathan Phillips Square in early February. The installation team faced temperatures of ‑30 °C and winds up to 80 km/h, yet they completed the branding on schedule, ensuring the venue was fully ready for launch. Faulkner cited this as a point of pride, illustrating how ICON’s expertise and determination overcome even the harshest Canadian winter weather.
Creating a Cohesive Brand Experience
Ultimately, whether an alpine skier in Cortina, a figure skater in Milan, a snowboarder’s family member in Livigno, or a fan cheering in Vancouver, everyone encountered a unified Canadian identity. The consistent use of maple leaf motifs, colours, and typography across balconies, walls, posters, and interactive displays fostered a sense of belonging and pride. Through meticulous planning, sustainable practices, and flawless execution, ICON Digital Productions helped turn every venue into a true home away from home for Team Canada.