2026 Winter Olympics in Italy
The sacred flame, the Olympic Flame, was brought from Greece to Italy "in a gesture of harmony"—today marks the start of the 60-day torch relay through 110 Italian provinces.
February 6–22, 2026 – XXV Olympic Winter Games // March 6–15 – Paralympics // in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo ((Deutsch, English, Français, Italiano))
Torch Relay of Super Athletes – 2026 Winter Olympics. Today, December 6, the Olympic torch relay begins in Rome: The relay will travel across Italy for two months, with many sporting legends serving as torchbearers. The flame will be carried by these super athletes through 110 Italian provinces, covering a total of 12,000 km, and will surely be remembered at each of the 60 celebratory stages. Sponsors Eni and Coca-Cola will enhance the respective torch relay sites with small events for the public. The Olympic flame traveled this week from Athens to Italy, where the XXV Olympic Winter Games will take place from February 6th to 22nd, 2026. In Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the Paralympics will also inspire many enthusiastic athletes to peak performances from March 6th to 15th.
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| Example photo: Snow in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Photo: Andreas Waess |
The journey of the Olympic flame began in Greece in November 2025
On November 26, actress Mary Mina, acting as a symbolic High Priestess, lit the Olympic flame in a festive ceremony at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The traditional lighting ritual was followed by the torch-handling ceremony to the first runner, Greek lightweight rower Petros Gaidatzis, who won the bronze medal in 2024. He was followed by other sporting legends from Italy, such as Armin Zoeggeler (two gold medals in 2002 and 2006), who carried the flame on its journey to Milano Cortina.
The flame is a symbol of peace, friendship, and unity, and it represents hope, tolerance, and respect among peoples worldwide. Every Olympiad since antiquity begins with the lighting ritual in Olympia - the flame is carried from there by torchbearers to the respective venue of the Olympic Games all over the world.
450 torchbearers carried the Olympic flame over 2,200 km through Greece, passing through 12 ski resorts, before arriving in Athens
The torchbearers brought the flame to the Panathenaic Stadium, where, on December 4, 2025, the Olympic flame's journey continued: it was flown to Italy and landed in Rome.
The flame will then be lit at the San Siro Stadium
on February 6th in Milan with the lighting of the large torch,
officially opening the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The various sports will be held in several cities across three regions of Northern Italy:
- Bormio: Alpine skiing, ski mountaineering
- Cortina and Anterselva: Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, luge, skeleton
- Livigno: Freestyle skiing, snowboarding
- Milan: Ice hockey, figure skating, opening ceremony, short track, speed racing, and more...
- Predazzo: Nordic combined and ski jumping
- Tesero: Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined
- Verona: Closing ceremony
