A symbolic, but still very popular, step was taken on Thursday September 20 in the preparation of the next edition of the Winter Universiade, scheduled for March 2 to 12, 2019 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The flame of the event was lit in Turin, Italy, host city of the first edition of the Summer Universiade, but also of its first winter version. The ceremony took place at the University of Turin. It coincided with International University Sports Day, celebrated every year on September 20, at the initiative of UNESCO. The flame was lit by a Russian athlete, snowboarder Nikolay Olyunin, gold medalist at the 2015 Winter Universiade in Granada, Spain. Initially, the torch relay will reach Almaty, Kazakhstan, host city of the last edition of the Winter Universiade, before taking a long journey to Russia, to end its journey in Krasnoyarsk, in Siberia.
