On Wednesday, the Milan-Cortina 2026 flame will be officially lit in Olympia.a ceremony that will begin at 11:30 amIt will be rich in symbols: children from the Olympia school will gather to form the Olympic rings, the Olympic, Italian and Greek anthems will resound, and the poem "The Light of Olympia" The ceremony will be recited by actor Ioannis Stankoglou. The weather forced the ceremony to be moved. inside the Archaeological Museum of Olympia rather than at the Temple of Hera, which will prevent the public from attending in person. Other adjustments are likely to be made.
The mayor of Olympia, Aristidis Panagiotopoulos, will then deliver a speech. He will be followed by the president of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee, Giovanni MalagòIOC President Kirsty Coventry, and finally the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvelos. According to the announced program, a dance show will accompany the lighting of the flame. Actress Mary Mina will act as high priestess and present the Olympic flame to the first torchbearer, AJ Ginnis. This will allow the relay to officially begin at 12:25 PM.
The 4 December, The last torchbearer, Elena Xenaki, will light the cauldron at the Panathenaic Stadium. with the Greek women's national water polo team. The ceremony will start at 11 a.m., will include several cultural performances, and will conclude when the high priestess Mary Mina hands the torch to the president of the COH, Isidoros Kouvelos, who will then pass it on to Giovanni Malagò. The flame will depart at 12:05 PM towards Italy, where she will begin a two-month relay on December 6.
