The Olympic Flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to Embark on a 12,000 km Journey Across Italy
The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will travel across Italy from December 6 to February 6, stopping in 60 cities to illuminate UNESCO World Heritage sites along the way. With less than 100 days to go before the start of the Olympic Games, the journey will begin on November 26 with the lighting of the flame in Olympia, Greece, before making its way to Italy, according to the Milano-Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee. After being handed over to Italy on December 4 at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the Olympic flame will begin its "grand voyage" with a procession through the historic monuments and streets of Rome, from where the torch relay will officially start on a route that will cross all Italian regions. "Each stage of the journey through our cities will remind the world of the power of sport to build bridges and break down barriers," said Giovanni Malago, President of Milano-Cortina 2026, noting that this route will "combine roots and future, hospitality and innovation, celebrating the best of the Italian spirit." Rome, which has not hosted the Olympics since the 1960 Summer Olympics and has since made several unsuccessful bids to host the Games, will be at the center of attention and the first festivities that will punctuate the daily torch relay. The opening ceremony of the Olympics will take place on February 6 at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, where the Olympic cauldron will be lit near the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace), after traveling through the metropolitan city and the Olympic venues, including the Athletes' Village, the new Santa Giulia Arena, Piazza del Duomo, and the cathedral with its lace-like architecture, which is the third-largest church in the world.
