2026 Winter Olympics torch relay
| Host city | Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
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| Countries visited | Greece and Italy |
| Distance | 12,000 kilometres (7,500 mi) |
| Torchbearers | 10,001 |
| Theme | The Greatest Journey |
| Start date | 26 November 2025 |
| End date | 6 February 2026 |
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| Part of a series on |
| 2026 Winter Olympics |
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The torch relay (Italian: Il Viaggio della Fiamma Olimpica) for the 2026 Winter Olympics is planned to commence on 26 November 2025 in Olympia, Greece, and conclude on 6 February 2026 in Milan, Italy, coinciding with the opening ceremony at San Siro.[1] The routes for both the Olympic and Paralympic torch relays were unveiled by the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 on 26 November 2024, one year before the start of the former.[1]
Following the lighting of the Olympic flame in Olympia, a handover ceremony will happen in Athens on 4 December 2025, where the flame will then arrive in Rome and visit all 110 provinces of Italy, making 60 stops over 63 days across 12,000 kilometres (7,500 mi).[1][2] The torch will be in Naples for Christmas, in Bari for New Year's Eve, and in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 26 January to commemorate 70 years since it hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics.[1] While the torch is in Piedmont, a tribute is planned for skier Matilde Lorenzi, who died while training in October 2024.[3] The torch relay plans to showcase many of the World Heritage Sites in the country and will involve 10,001 torchbearers.[1] Applications for torchbearers are scheduled to open in February 2025.[2]
On 29 November 2024, Italian comedy trio Gli Autogol were announced as official narrators for the torch relay.[4] The design of the torch is scheduled to be unveiled on 14 April at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, as well as simultaneously in Milan; Osaka and Milan are twin cities.[5][6]
Stops in Greece
[edit]As per tradition, the lighting ceremony will take place at the Temple of Hera in Olympia using a parabolic mirror to concentrate the rays of the sun; the flame will then travel to Athens for the handover ceremony.[2][7]
Stops in Italy
[edit]After the flame's arrival in Rome on 4 December 2025, the relay through the country will start two days later and travel through Tuscany before visiting the islands of Sardinia and Sicily and then returning to the mainland.[3] The route plans to visit all 20 regions of Italy and 110 provinces.[2]
| Stop | No. | Date | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rome | 1 | 6 Dec 2025 | Lazio |
| Viterbo | 2 | 7 Dec 2025 | |
| Terni | 3 | 8 Dec 2025 | Umbria |
| Perugia | 4 | 9 Dec 2025 | |
| Siena | 5 | 10 Dec 2025 | Tuscany |
| Florence | 6 | 11 Dec 2025 | |
| Livorno | 7 | 12 Dec 2025 | |
| Nuoro | 8 | 13 Dec 2025 | Sardinia |
| Cagliari | 9 | 14 Dec 2025 | |
| Palermo | 10 | 15 Dec 2025 | Sicily |
| Agrigento | 11 | 16 Dec 2025 | |
| Syracuse | 12 | 17 Dec 2025 | |
| Catania | 13 | 18 Dec 2025 | |
| Reggio Calabria | 14 | 19 Dec 2025 | Calabria |
| Catanzaro | 15 | 20 Dec 2025 | |
| Salerno | 16 | 21 Dec 2025 | Campania |
| Pompei | 17 | 22 Dec 2025 | |
| Naples | 18 | 23 Dec 2025 | |
| Latina | 19 | 26 Dec 2025 | Lazio |
| Benevento | 20 | 27 Dec 2025 | Campania |
| Potenza | 21 | 28 Dec 2025 | Basilicata |
| Taranto | 22 | 29 Dec 2025 | Apulia |
| Lecce | 23 | 30 Dec 2025 | |
| Bari | 24 | 31 Dec 2025 | |
| Campobasso | 25 | 1 Jan 2026 | Molise |
| Pescara | 26 | 2 Jan 2026 | Abruzzo |
| L'Aquila | 27 | 3 Jan 2026 | |
| Ancona | 28 | 4 Jan 2026 | Marche |
| Rimini | 29 | 5 Jan 2026 | Emilia-Romagna |
| Bologna | 30 | 6 Jan 2026 | |
| Ferrara | 31 | 7 Jan 2026 | |
| Parma | 32 | 8 Jan 2026 | |
| Genoa | 33 | 9 Jan 2026 | Liguria |
| Cuneo | 34 | 10 Jan 2026 | Piedmont |
| Turin | 35 | 11 Jan 2026 | |
| Aosta | 36 | 12 Jan 2026 | Aosta Valley |
| Novara | 37 | 13 Jan 2026 | Piedmont |
| Varese | 38 | 14 Jan 2026 | Lombardy |
| Pavia | 39 | 15 Jan 2026 | |
| Piacenza | 40 | 16 Jan 2026 | Emilia-Romagna |
| Brescia | 41 | 17 Jan 2026 | Lombardy |
| Verona | 42 | 18 Jan 2026 | Veneto |
| Mantua | 43 | 19 Jan 2026 | Lombardy |
| Vicenza | 44 | 20 Jan 2026 | Veneto |
| Padua | 45 | 21 Jan 2026 | |
| Venice | 46 | 22 Jan 2026 | |
| Trieste | 47 | 23 Jan 2026 | Friuli-Venezia Giulia |
| Udine | 48 | 24 Jan 2026 | |
| Belluno | 49 | 25 Jan 2026 | Veneto |
| Cortina d'Ampezzo | 50 | 26 Jan 2026 | |
| Bolzano | 51 | 27 Jan 2026 | Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol |
| Cavalese | 52 | 28 Jan 2026 | |
| Trento | 53 | 29 Jan 2026 | |
| Livigno | 54 | 30 Jan 2026 | Lombardy |
| Sondrio | 55 | 31 Jan 2026 | |
| Lecco | 56 | 1 Feb 2026 | |
| Bergamo | 57 | 2 Feb 2026 | |
| Como | 58 | 3 Feb 2026 | |
| Monza | 59 | 4 Feb 2026 | |
| Milan | 60 | 5 Feb 2026 | |
| 6 Feb 2026 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Milano Cortina 2026 unveils "Greatest Journey" as Olympic Torch Relay route announced". International Olympic Committee. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "The Greatest Journey". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ a b Matar, Daniella (26 November 2024). "Olympic flame for 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will go on 63-day journey across Italy". AP News. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ "Gli Autogol racconteranno il Viaggio della Fiamma" (in Italian). International Olympic Committee. 29 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ "Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Torch at Expo 2025 Osaka". International Olympic Committee. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ "Al via il viaggio della fiamma olimpica di Milano Cortina" (in Italian). Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
- ^ Fenton, Caela (26 November 2024). "Plans revealed for Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic torch relay". Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved 29 November 2024.