Olympic Flame Begins Journey to Milan Cortina 2026 Amid Weather Challenges

ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece (AP) — The Olympic flame began its journey Wednesday to the Milan Cortina Winter Games, although it lacked some of its traditional magic. Bad weather in western Greece forced organizers to move the torch-lighting ceremony indoors, from Olympia‘s ancient stadium to a nearby museum.

The flame is typically lit by focusing sunlight with a concave mirror. However, due to overcast skies, officials instead used a backup flame kindled during a brief sunny period at Monday’s rehearsal. Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis ignited the torch relay, which will ultimately see the flame carried by around 10,000 runners across Italy before the competition starts on February 6.

As the ceremony began, the sun eventually broke through the rain clouds over Olympia. “It’s incredibly memorable and a little bit emotional for me to be standing here,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who was overseeing her first torch lighting since her election in March. “It feels like the past and the present are really coming together. We are extremely happy that today’s ceremony reminds us what the games stand for.”

Italy is hosting the Winter Games for the third time, and preparations have faced various issues, including budget overruns and construction delays. Despite these challenges, fans can look forward to a program featuring 116 medal events and the return of NHL players to Olympic hockey.

After a brief tour of Greece, the flame will begin a 63-day, 12,000-kilometer relay through all 110 Italian provinces, showcasing cultural sites before reaching Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony. Giovanni Malago, head of the Milan Cortina Organizing Committee, expressed the excitement: “Over the next few weeks, the Olympic flame will pass through all the Italian provinces, 60 cities, 300 towns, and all the UNESCO sites. It will travel from the northern peaks to the southern shores.”

Speakers at the ceremony called for world leaders to recognize the spirit of the Olympic Truce, a tradition that pauses conflicts during the games for safe participation. “Today, humanity is going through a time of multiple and parallel crises. Wars proliferate from Europe to the Middle East and from Asia to Africa. A society at war is a failed society,” stated the mayor of Ancient Olympia, Aristidis Panayiotopoulos. “The flame allows us to recall the values that guide humanity, values that were born and forged here.”

Even with the change of venue, Wednesday’s ceremony retained its traditional elements, including sculptural dance gestures by performers dressed as priestesses. Artistic director Artemis Ignatiou noted that the indoor setting offered a unique energy. “Dancing among the statues gave the ceremony a timeless feeling,” she said.

A separate flame for the Winter Paralympics in March will be lit on February 24 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.