2026 Winter Olympic Games flame lit in Greece

Due to heavy rain and strong winds, the main part of the Flame-Lighting Ceremony was held inside the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. However, the ritual remained faithful to its Olympic tradition.

The ceremony gathered representatives from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), including President Kirsty Coventry, as well as officials from the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the Milano Cortina 2026 organizers, and local authorities.

As forecasters predicted poor weather, the flame was lit early on Monday near the Temple of Hera, adhering to the traditional method using a parabolic mirror and the sun's rays. The fire was safely maintained in a lantern until today, when it was used to ignite the Olympic torch inside the Archaeological Museum. Inside the museum, the High Priestess, played by actress Mary Mina, called upon Apollo, then lit the Olympic torch using the flame saved from Monday’s traditional lighting.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry, in her speech, underlined the values carried by the flame, stating that the ceremony served as a reminder that the Olympic Games stand for peaceful competition, friendship, and respect.

The Olympic Torch Relay officially began when the flame was passed to the first Torchbearer, Paris 2024 bronze rowing medalist Petros Gkaidatzis. He was joined by Stefania Belmondo, the first Italian Torchbearer, for the run to the Pierre de Coubertin Monument. The flame was then successively carried by Italian luge icon Armin Zöggeler and Greek Olympic champion Dimosthenis Tampakos, who continued the relay through the archaeological site.

For the next nine days, the flame will travel across Greece before the official Handover Ceremony on December 4 at the Panathenaic Stadium, after which it will depart straight for Rome to begin the Italian relay.

Running from December 6, 2025, to February 6, 2026, the Olympic flame will travel 12,000 kilometres across all 110 Italian provinces, visiting 60 cities and 300 towns. A total of 10,001 torchbearers will carry the flame before the relay culminates at the Milano San Siro Stadium Opening Ceremony on February 6, 2026, when the final torchbearer ignites the Olympic cauldron to signal the official start of the Games.

Earlier, Qazinform reported that the President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan, Gennady Golovkin, met with his Italian counterpart, Luciano Buonfiglio.