Olympics
The Olympic torch has officially been ignited, building a feeling of excitement and anticipation around the world. On November 26, at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece, the inaugural Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame took place. This historic ceremony kicks off the famed Olympic Torch Relay, starting the torch’s journey from Athens, Greece, to Milan, Italy.
The Olympic torch relay was originally introduced in 1936 for the Berlin Summer Olympics by Carl Diem. The modern Olympic torch has its roots in the ancient Greek tradition of a sacred flame, which was rekindled with a torch relay for the first time in 1936 to symbolize a connection between the ancient and modern games. The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek traditions in which a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. The torch is lit in Olympia, Greece, and then travels to the host city, in this case, Milan.
The lighting ceremony was attended by several key figures from both Greece and Italy. Representing Greece, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, the President of Hellenic Republic, Konstantinos Tasoulas, and the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvelos, were all in attendance. All the way from Italy, the President of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Luciano Buonfiglio, the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, the President of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 ,Giovanni Malagò, the CEO of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, Andrea Varnier, and a delegation of the Organizing Committee were also at the ceremony.
Greek Olympic rower Petros Gaïdatzis, who received a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Games, was chosen to be the first runner in the historic relay to Milan. After receiving the torch, he began the journey, passing along the flame to Italian athlete Stefania Belmondo. Belmodo was the last torchbearer at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, showing a strong connection between Italy and Greece’s history in the Olympic competition.
After the ceremonies, the Hellenic phase of the relay kicked off in full swing. Over 450 torch bearers will travel across the country, passing through some incredible landscapes such as Greece’s 12 major ski resorts. The journey through Greece will conclude on December 4 at the Panathenaic Stadium, where the ceremony for the handover to the Milano Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee will occur. On December 6, the Italian portion of the journey will commence, beginning in the historic city of Rome.
The flame will take an amazing 63-day long journey, with 60 stops along 7,456 miles, 110 provinces and over 300 municipalities. The relay will end its historic journey on the evening of February 6, 2026, in Milan, kicking off the opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium.
The Olympics are always an amazing way to bring the world together, and what better location than the beautiful country of Italy. The Flame still has an astounding journey ahead of it before the games begin, but the sports community across the world can now begin preparing for what may be one of the most anticipated Olympics in recent history.
