The sacred flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be lit on Wednesday in ancient Olympia, Greece, with poor weather which has forced organisers to adjust the traditional ceremony.
The flame is usually ignited at the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera using the sun’s rays focused through a parabolic mirror by performers dressed as ancient priestesses.
However, with rain expected, the organisers have moved the lighting indoors to the Olympia Archaeological Museum, home to Praxiteles’ renowned sculpture Hermes and the Infant Dionysus.
Petros Gaidatzis, Greece’s rowing bronze medallist from the Paris 2024 Olympics, has been chosen as the first torchbearer for the Greek leg of the relay.
He replaces the original selection, Greek-American alpine skier AJ Ginnis, who was sidelined by an injury. Former Italian cross-country skiing champion Stefania Belmondo and luge icon Armin Zoeggeler will also take part early in the relay.
After the flame is handed over at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on December 4, the site where the modern Olympics began in 1896, it will travel to Rome. From there, it will embark on a 63-day, 12,000-kilometre journey through major Italian cities and historic sites, including Pompeii.
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 6–22, mark Italy’s third time hosting the Games and the first Winter Olympics in Western Europe since Turin 2006.
The Paralympic Winter Games follow from March 6–15. Events will be spread across a vast area: ice sports in Milan, alpine skiing in Bormio and Cortina, the biathlon in Anterselva, Nordic skiing in Val di Fiemme, and snowboarding and freestyle skiing in Livigno.
Even with many events at high altitude, organisers are preparing for uncertain weather conditions by stockpiling artificial snow. The organising committee plans to produce 2.4 million cubic metres of artificial snow, requiring 948,000 cubic metres of water.
Italy already leads Europe in artificial snow use, with more than 90 percent of its ski slopes relying on snowmaking systems.
A December 2024 study published in the International Journal of Climatology found that snow cover in the Italian Alps has declined by half over the past century, underscoring growing concerns about climate impacts on future winter sports.
