The Olympic Flame has left Ancient Olympia, heading to the 25th Winter Olympic Games ‘Milan-Cortina 2026’, with Cyprus joining in.
The Games will take place from February 6 to 22, 2026. The Lighting Ceremony happened at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, in front of the famous statue of Nike by Paionios. The first torchbearer was Olympian Petros Gaidatzis, who got the Flame from High Priestess Mary Mina. Together with Italian Olympian Stefania Belmondo, they kicked off the Flame’s journey, showing the link between Ancient Olympia and Milan and Cortina.
The Olympic Flame will travel through Greece to Athens, where the official Handover Ceremony will happen at the Panathenaic Stadium on December 4. It will then head to Italy, passing through Rome on December 5, before starting the Italian part of the Olympic Torch Relay on December 6.
Over 63 days, the Torch Relay will cover 12,000 kilometers, visiting all 20 regions and 110 provinces of Italy and passing by 60 World Heritage Sites, before arriving in Milan for the Opening Ceremony on February 6, 2026. In line with the sustainability goals of ‘Milan-Cortina 2026’, the Olympic torch will burn bioLPG made from renewable sources like used cooking oil, and each torch can be reused and refilled up to 10 times.
Olympian Petros Gaidatzis holds the Olympic Flame in Kalavryta, a place rich in history and meaning.
As part of the Olympic Flame’s journey and promoting the Olympic Ideal, the Institute of Greek Culture Cyprus is hosting an event called: ‘Greek Culture – Athletic Ideal – Olympism’, on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at 18:30, at the CLEOPATRA hotel in Nicosia, under the support of the Cyprus Sports Organization.
