The countdown for the Winter Olympic Games is on. Today, Wednesday, November 26, the Olympic torch was lit in Greece, in Ancient Olympia, in a ceremony that had to be tweaked due to weather. Due to the rain forecast, the organisers decided to first lit the flame during a rehearsal on Monday (which is the video shared today), "ensuring that the purity of the traditional method was preserved", as Olympics.com reports.
It was then used to lit the official Olympic torch on Wednesday, inside the Olympia archaeological museum. The torch was first carried by Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medallist in rowing Petros Gkaidatzis, and then joined by the two-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, the Italian Stefania Belmondo.
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The torch will tour Greece until December 4, when it will be handed to the Games organisers and transported to Italy. It will go through 60 Italian cities and 300 towns with a total of 10,001 torchbearers, before reaching Cortina D'Ampezzo on January 26, to mark exactly 70 years from the 1956 Winter Olympics.
After visiting most major Italian landmarks like the Colosseum or the Grand Canal in Venice, it will finally enter Milan's San Siro Stadium on February 6, the day the Winter Olympic Games start.
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"In a divided world that we live in today, the Games hold a truly symbolic place. And it's our duty, our responsibility, to ensure that the athletes from around the world can come together peacefully, and that they can inspire the dreams and hopes of those around the world that are watching", said IOC President Kirsty Coventry.
Further reading: HBO and Eurosport announce documentaries and Looney Tunes shorts 100 days before Winter Olympics 2026
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina will take place between February 6-22, with more than 3,500 athletes from 93 countries expected taking part in 195 medal events, in 16 disciplines, like alpine skiing, biathlon, ski jumping, Nordic combined, freestyle skiing, cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering, snowboarding, luge, figure skating, and curling. Are you excited for the Winter Olympic Games next year?