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≡ OLYMPIC FLAME ≡
Once again, a flame lit from the rays of the sun began a lengthy journey from ancient Olympic in Greece and will end up in Milan, Italy for the opening of the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games on 6 February 2026..
The International Olympic Committee announcement captured the unique circumstances of this edition of the flame ceremony:
“Because of the wet weather forecast, the flame was lit using the rays of the sun during a rehearsal on Monday, ensuring that the purity of the traditional method was preserved. This flame was then transferred to the official Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch during the official ceremony, where Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in rowing Petros Gkaidatzis [GRE] marked the start of the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay as the first torchbearer.
“Petros was then joined by the first Italian torchbearer, two-time Olympic champion Stefania Belmondo [ITA], to run together, before she in turn passed the flame to her compatriot and fellow double Olympic champion, Armin Zoeggeler [ITA].”
The ceremony itself was held at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, reported to be the first time held indoors since December 1967 for the lighting of the flame for the 1968 Grenoble Olympic Winter Games in France.
The Olympic Flame tradition for the Winter Games began in 1952 in Oslo (NOR) and was lit there for the 1956 and 1960 Winter Games as well. The lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia for a Winter Games was first done for the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck (AUT).
The schedule ahead:
● 26 Nov.: Lighting of the Flame at Olympia
● 26 Nov.-04 Dec.: Torch Relay in Greece
● 04 Dec.: Transfer of the Olympic Flame in Athens
● 06 Dec.: Torch Relay in Italy begins in Rome
● 06 Dec.-06 Feb.: Torch Relay in Italy
● 06 Feb.: Opening Ceremonies in Milan and Cortina
Along the way, the Italian relay will arrive in Bari on New Year’s Eve, in Cortina – site of the 1956 Winter Games – on 26 January, the date of the opening of those Winter Games.
More than 300 cities will be visited via 10,001 torchbearers across the 12,000 km (7,456 mile) route.
Remarks by IOC President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) included:
“We are extremely happy that today’s ceremony reminds us what the Games stand for. They are about bringing people together in peaceful competition, in friendship and in respect. As we light the Olympic flame for Milano Cortina, we will carry this light from the past to the present and into the future. And it’s a shared future that we all want to see. This is why we firmly believe in the Olympic Truce. In laying down our differences and wanting to hope for a brighter future.”
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