Ancient Olympia (Greece), Nov 26 (NationPress) The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games was ignited at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Ancient Olympia, located in western Greece, on Wednesday. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the ceremony took place inside the Archaeological Museum near the ancient stadium.

The flame is set to journey across Greece before being officially handed over to Italy at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on December 4.

During the ceremony, Greek actress Mary Mina, portraying an ancient Greek High Priestess, lit the flame and presented it, along with an olive branch, to the inaugural torchbearer, Greek rower Petros Gkaidatzis. The torch relay commenced immediately afterward, with Gkaidatzis passing it to former cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo.

A group led by Dimosthenis Tampakos, an Olympic gold and silver medalist in artistic gymnastics (rings) and president of the Hellenic Olympic Academy, followed. Joining him were rowers Nikolaos Skiathitis, Ioannis Tsilis, and Stergios Papachristos. The final torchbearer was Aikaterini Oikonomopoulou, who earned a silver medal for Greece in water polo at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), delivered a heartfelt speech on this significant occasion. Coventry expressed, “We are extremely happy that today’s ceremony reminds us what the Games stand for. They are about bringing people together in peaceful competition, in friendship, and in respect. As we light the Olympic flame for Milano Cortina, we will carry this light from the past to the present and into the future. And it’s a shared future that we all want to see. This is why we firmly believe in the Olympic Truce. In laying down our differences and wanting to hope for a brighter future.”

She further added, “These Games come at a critical point in our history. 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 athletes from around the world can come together peacefully, and that they can inspire the dreams and hopes of those around the world who are watching.”

The lighting of the Olympic flame is a symbolic event that connects the ancient and modern Olympics and has been a tradition since 1936. This ritual was performed in front of the Temple of Hera, where the high priestess invoked the god Apollo to send his light, capturing the sun's rays with a parabolic mirror to ignite the flame, a representation of purity, peace, and the everlasting spirit of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic flame will now make its way across Greece towards Athens, where the official handover ceremony is set for December 4. The flame will then travel to Italy, spending December 5 in Rome before the Italian segment of the Olympic Torch Relay begins on December 6.