Athens, 5 December 2025 (dpa/MIA) – The Olympic Flame for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo was handed over to the Italian organizers on Friday in a short ceremony in the Athens stadium where the first modern Games were held in 1896.

"Today marks a magical moment for us all," organizing committee president Giovanni Malago said after receiving the flame lit a week ago in Ancient Olympia from Greek Olympic Committee president Isidoros Kouvelos.

Kouvelos said: “We cannot change the whole world in 16 days of competition. But we can show for 16 days what the world could look like when respect comes first."

Due to a bad weather forecast only the handover ceremony took place at the marble Panathenaic Stadium. The artistic programme was cancelled and only shown via video recorded during rehearsals.

It eventually stayed dry but only small crowd showed up as tennis star Jasmine Paolini and cycling great Filippo Ganna, both Italian Olympic champions, carried the flame before the formal handover.

The Olympic Flame was to arrive in Rome later on Thursday.

It will stay there for a few days before a torch relay through all 20 Italian regions and 110 provinces in a 12,000-kilometres journey over 63 days that culminates in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony in Milan's San Siro stadium on February 6.

Malago said the relay would convey "a message of unity and resilience that will transcend borders and generations."

Milan/Cortina are third Winter Games in Italy, following Cortina in 1956 and Turin in 2006.

Photo: MIA