Cross-country skiing legend Stefania Belmondo presents, Greek alpine skier AJ Ginnis first torchbearer: the first secrets of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic flame lighting ceremony revealed
Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: the Olympic flame is lit next Wednesday
On Friday, five days before the Olympic flame lighting ceremony in Olympia (Greece), the organisers of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games revealed in a press release that two Italian winter sports legends would be on hand for this important moment.
They are former cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo, a ten-time Olympic medallist between 1992 and 2002 and the last torchbearer at Turin 2006, and skeleton skier Armin Zoeggeler, Olympic champion in 2006 and 2010.
“It is a great honour for Italy to see two of our most beloved sporting legends take centre stage at the lighting ceremony in Olympia. Thanks to the collaboration with CONI and our Greek colleagues, we are including two emblematic Italian athletes in this age-old ritual from the very first stage of the relay. The Olympic flame embodies the values of friendship and unity between peoples, and I am certain that it will ignite our collective enthusiasm as we approach the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games”, explains Giovanni Malago, President of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.
The Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games logo – Manzoni/NordicFocus
This ceremony will mark the start of a nine-day relay on Greek soil, covering some 2,200 km across seven regions of the country, with 36 welcome ceremonies planned along the way. More than 450 torchbearers will take part in this first phase of the Olympic Torch Relay. The first torchbearer, next Wednesday, will be Greek alpine skier AJ Ginnis.
The Greek relay will end on 4 December in Athens (Greece) with the handover ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium, where a delegation from the Milan/Cortina 2026 Organising Committee will officially receive the Olympic flame before transporting it to Italy on the same day.
It will arrive in Rome (Italy) on the afternoon of 4 December and, two days later, will begin a unique and unforgettable journey: an incredible 63-day adventure, including 60 festive stages over 12,000 km, through 110 provinces and more than 300 municipalities.
The lighting ceremony
In the sacred grove of ancient Olympia, where the Olympic Games were born almost three millennia ago, the ceremony of lighting the Olympic flame marks the symbolic beginning of each Olympic adventure. In front of the Temple of Hera, a priestess invokes the god Apollo to send his light, capturing the sun’s rays with a parabolic mirror to light the flame: a symbol of purity, peace and the eternal continuity of the Olympic spirit.
The Olympic flame – IOC/Greg Martin
Surrounded by priestesses and kouroi, a priestess performs a ritual celebrating the harmony between humanity and nature. The flame is then placed in an urn and carried to the ancient stadium by Hestiada, the priestess guardian of the fire, where it is handed over to the first torchbearer accompanied by an olive branch, a symbol of peace. Born of the light of Apollo and the timeless earth of Zeus, the Olympic flame embodies the enduring essence of Olympism: a fire that transcends borders and illuminates humanity’s shared quest for excellence and peace.
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