"We will work hard and commit ourselves to ensure the event will be remembered in sport history," he said before the vote. "This is the dream of an entire country, and not only the Government but also the regions.

"The cities are fully committed to supporting this project."

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told the IOC memebers, "You know this is the perfect place for the Winter Olympics - Milan, Cortina, and the Alps."

"We have prepared the Games to be friendly to the planet," he added.

Stockholm, who hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and equestrian events for the 1956 Melbourne Games, suffered Sweden's seventh failing bidding attempts.

Swedish cities had bidded every Winter Olympic Games from 1984 to 2002 but was beaten six times in a row (Gothenburg 1984, Falun 1988, Falun 1992, Ostersund 1994, Ostersund 1998 and Ostersund 2002).