Olympic flame for 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will go on 63-day journey across Italy

VERONA, Italy (AP) — The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will pass through all 110 provinces in Italy on a 63-day journey before the cauldron is lit.

Organizers announced the route for the torch relay on Tuesday at a palace facing the historic Verona Arena, the large Roman amphitheater that will host the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games as well as the opening of the Paralympics.

The presentation of the 12,000-kilometer (7,455-mile) route took place exactly a year before the flame will be lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece.

“The Olympic torch relay is the moment when the Games enter peoples’ homes, spreading the magic of winter sports across Italy,” Milan-Cortina CEO Andrea Varnier said.

“This is very important … it’s the only project that literally takes the Olympics in front of millions of people’s houses.”

The flame will arrive in Rome on Dec. 4 and will begin its journey across Italy two days later.

A total of 10,001 people will participate in the torch relay. The flame will travel through Tuscany before going across to the islands of Sardinia and then Sicily — by sea — and returning to the Italian mainland on Dec. 19.

The torch relay, which includes 60 city celebrations, will be in Naples for Christmas and in Bari for New Year’s Eve. It will then travel up the eastern side of Italy and across to the north-west, reaching Torino — the site of Italy’s last Olympic Games in 2006 — on Jan 11.

While it is in Piedmont, there will be a tribute to Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi, who died last month at the age of 19 following a crash in training.

“There will be something to honor her I promise, also because it was her dream to participate in these Olympics,” said Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò, who also leads the organizing committee for the Milan-Cortina Games.

The torch will arrive in Verona on Jan. 18 and reach Cortina d’Ampezzo eight days later — on the 70th anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1956 Winter Olympics there.

The torch will conclude its journey in Milan, entering the San Siro stadium on Feb. 6 for the opening ceremony.

Full details on how to apply to be a torch bearer will be announced in February.

“We will choose the participants focusing on their stories of courage, of those who have had experience of peace, inclusion and respect,” said Milan-Cortina ceremonies director Maria Laura Iascone.

The Milan-Cortina Games will run from Feb. 6-22, followed by the Paralympics from March 6-15. The flame for the Paralympics will be lit in the British town of Stoke Mandeville and will be carried by 501 people.

“Every step through our cities will become a moment of celebration and reflection, reminding us of the power of sport to build bridges and break down barriers,” Malagò, said. “When the flames will travel through our streets, they will touch millions with a unique and unforgettable warmth: the kind only sport can convey.

“Igniting in people’s hearts the sense of being part of something bigger, the Olympic torch relay and Paralympic torch relay will be unique opportunities for Italy to shine, once again, on the world stage.”

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

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