The Olympic flame began its journey on Wednesday for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, but its launch took place in an unusual indoor setting after storms swept across western Greece. Heavy rain, strong winds, and dark skies forced organizers to move the lighting ceremony from Olympia’s ancient stadium to a nearby museum.
The change carried symbolic weight. The flame is normally lit outdoors on the ground where the ancient Olympic Games began nearly 2,800 years ago. Lighting it in Olympia links every modern Games to its Greek origin. The severe weather made that impossible, but organizers kept the ceremony firmly rooted in tradition.
Backup flame replaces sun-lit method
The flame is normally produced by focusing sunlight with a concave mirror, echoing ancient Greek ceremonial practices. With thick clouds blocking the light, officials relied on a backup flame created during Monday’s brief moment of sunshine. The ceremony continued inside the museum, surrounded by statues and artifacts from Greece’s classical past.
The #MilanoCortina2026 flame is officially lit in Ancient Olympia! 🔥
First torchbearer, rower Petros Gkaidatzis, begins the Olympic Torch Relay, carrying the spirit of the Games toward Italy. 🇮🇹 🤩 pic.twitter.com/JhX6xxXPLn
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) November 26, 2025
Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis launched the torch relay. The flame will travel through Greece before the Dec. 4 handover to Italy, then begin a 63-day, 12,000-kilometer (7,456 miles) relay across all 110 Italian provinces. About 10,000 runners will carry it until it reaches Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the Feb. 6 opening of the 2026 Winter Games.
The sun briefly broke through the clouds during the indoor ceremony, bringing light into the museum after the lighting had already taken place.
IOC president highlights symbolic meaning
IOC President Kirsty Coventry attended the event, her first since being elected in March. “It’s incredibly memorable and a little bit emotional for me to be standing here,” she said. She added that the moment felt like a past and present meeting. “We are extremely happy that today’s ceremony reminds us what the games stand for.”
A historic day for Kirsty Coventry. ❤️ The first Olympic Flame-lighting Ceremony as President of the International Olympic Committee!#MilanoCortina2026 | @MilanoCortina26 pic.twitter.com/DgOOWV8pw4
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) November 26, 2025
Italy is preparing to host its third Winter Games, though cost overruns and construction delays have affected preparations. Even so, organizers say the program will feature 116 medal events, the debut of ski mountaineering, increased female participation, and the return of NHL players to Olympic hockey.
Officials call for Olympic Truce
Giovanni Malago, head of the Milan Cortina Organizing Committee, said the relay will cross the entire country. “The Olympic flame will pass through all the Italian provinces, 60 cities, 300 towns, 20 regions and all the UNESCO sites,” he said.
Speakers at the ceremony urged world leaders to respect the Olympic Truce, the ancient Greek tradition that halted conflicts during the Games. Aristidis Panayiotopoulos, the mayor of Ancient Olympia, said the message was urgent.
From Olympia to the future. The flame it’s on its journey🔥
In Olympia, the Olympic Flame was lit and came to life in the handover from Greek athlete Petros Gkaidatzis to Stefania Belmondo: a gesture filled with meaning, marking the beginning of the journey towards Milano… pic.twitter.com/fvJEIJwrzb
— Milano Cortina 2026 (@milanocortina26) November 26, 2025
“Wars proliferate from Europe to the Middle East and from Asia to Africa. So we should honestly admit that a society at war is a failed society,” he said. “The flame allows us to again recall the values that guide humanity, values that were born and forged here.”
Greek ritual performers preserve ancient elements
Even indoors, the ceremony kept its Greek identity. Performers dressed as priestesses and male kouroi—the same roles used in modern reenactments of ancient rituals—moved through the hall in sculptural gestures. They recited invocations in Greek to the ancient gods, preserving the atmosphere of an outdoor Olympia ceremony.
Artemis Ignatiou, the artistic director, said the museum created its own emotional setting. “We gained something special: the energy of the museum and the archaeological space itself,” she said. She later added that performing among the statues “gave the ceremony a timeless feeling.”
Paralympic flame to be lit in England
A separate flame for the Winter Paralympics will be lit on Feb. 24 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement. The Paralympics will run from March 6–15.