The Italy Olympic torch relay for the 2026 Winter Games began Saturday in Rome, setting the flame on a cross-country journey through Italy two months before the Milan Cortina Olympics start.
Why It Matters
The torch relay carries the Olympic flame from ancient Olympia, Greece to the host nation, in a tradition connecting today’s Games to their ancient roots. As the flame travels, the relay is meant to spread excitement and promote the Olympic ideals of peace, friendship and unity ahead of the opening ceremony.
The Olympics bring together the world’s top athletes to compete at the highest level, while giving nations an international stage to showcase pride and culture, while fostering global unity.
What to Know
The flame first arrived from Greece in Italy on December 4 and a lighting ceremony took place on Friday. On Saturday, the official torch relay commenced at Rome’s Stadio dei Marmi. Giancarlo Peris, a runner who in was the final torchbearer for the Rome Olympic Games in 1960, handed the lantern with the Olympic Flame to President of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, Giovanni Malagò, to light the cauldron.
Athletes Gregorio Paltrinieri, Elisa Di Francisca, and Gianmarco Tamberi kicked off the relay, with Achille Polonara as the first torchbearer to leave the stadium with the Flame.
The Italian Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, and the President of Italian National Olympic Committee, Luciano Buonfiglio, were in attendance.
The torch relay will traverse nearly 7,500 miles, passing through all 110 provinces of Italy, and all of Italy’s 61 UNESCO World Heritage sites before ending up in Milan ahead of the Games which are set to commence on February 6.
The relay will involve over 10,000 torch bearers, the Associated Press reported, with the Olympics noting 164 on the first day, not all of whom are former or current Olympians, with some actors and humanitarians also featured.
What People Are Saying
Italian President President Sergio Mattarella said on Friday: “Peace is coded into the DNA of the Olympics… Italy has asked that the truce be renewed and we hope that it is possible…We hope that the two months that separate us from the beginning of the Games can bring an easing of tensions and dialogue, and stop attacks and barbarity.”
Milano Cortina 2026 President Giovanni Malagò said on Saturday per the AP: “It’s like a giant two-month advertisement.”
The International Olympic Committee wrote in an X post on Saturday: “With two months to go until @milanocortina26, the Olympic Torch Relay has begun in Italy! Over the next 63 days, the Olympic flame will travel some 12,000 km through every region of Italy – uniting communities on the road to #MilanoCortina2026”
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said on Friday: “The Olympic Games exists to bring people together, to break down the walls that divide us, and to inspire the dreams and hopes of the next generation.”
What Happens Next
The torch will be in Naples for Christmas and will pay a visit to former Olympic host Turin in early January.
The 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo run from February 6 to the 22.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.