Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: 20 years on, the Olympic flame returns to Italian soil
Thursday 4 December was an important day for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games. The Olympic flame, lit last week in Olympia (Greece), was officiallyhanded over to the organisers at a handover ceremony held at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens (Greece).
After spending last night on the Acropolis, the flame entered the stadium carried by Greek sportsman Giorgos Kougioumtsidis, before being passed on to Italian Olympic champions Jasmine Paolini (tennis) and Filippo Ganna (cycling). Eleni Xenaki, a member of the Greek women’s water polo team crowned world champions this year, then set the stadium’s cauldron alight.
It was from this cauldron that the High Priestess lit the final torch of the ceremony and handed it to the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvelos, who in turn passed it on to the President of the 2026 Olympic Games Organising Committee, Giovanni Malago.
The Olympic flame then took off for Italy on an ITA Airways flight, landing at Rome Fiumicino’s Leonardo da Vinci airport at around 5pm. Jasmine Paolini and Giovanni Malago took the lantern containing the flame off the plane, bringing it to Italy for the first time in 20 years.
After landing, the Olympic flame made its way to the Quirinal Palace. In the presence of Giovanni Malago and others, Jasmine Paolini officially handed over the lantern containing the Olympic flame to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella , in a moment of profound institutional and emotional significance.
The arrival of the Olympic flame in Italy and its handover to President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace are moments of great emotion on our way to Milan/Cortina 2026,” said Giovanni Malago in a press release. Over the next few days, this fire will cross our country from north to south, reaching diverse cities, communities and territories, reminding us of the beauty of the differences that make Italy unique in the world.”
What next?
This Friday, an official celebration will take place in the Piazza del Quirinale, with the lighting of a celebration cauldron for the Olympic Torch Relay by President Sergio Mattarella and a spectacular flyover by the Frecce Tricolori acrobatic patrol. The celebration cauldron will remain lit for the public to see throughout the day.
The Italian leg of the relay will then officially begin on Saturday 6 December. Dubbed Il Grande Viaggio by the Milan/Cortina 2026 Organising Committee, the relay aims to bring the Olympic spirit to communities across the country. Each relay runner’s journey will tell a unique story, celebrating Italian culture, history and people, and generating excitement in the run-up to the Games.
The relay will cover 12,000 kilometres in 63 days, crossing the country’s 20 regions and 110 provinces and passing through 60 UNESCO World Heritage sites before reaching Milan for the Games’ opening ceremony on 6 February 2026.
Relive the flame ceremony in full
- Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: the Olympic flame was lit in Olympia
- Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: the route of the Olympic flame unveiled
