- Heavy storms forced the flame-lighting ceremony indoors at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.
- Cloudy skies prevented the traditional sun-powered ignition.
- A backup flame created earlier in the week kept rituals intact.
- Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis opened the torch relay.
- The flame will travel 12,000 km across Italy before the 2026 Winter Games.
When the Weather Decides to Host the Ceremony Instead
The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan–Cortina Winter Games began its journey on Wednesday, November 26 — though not in the historic stadium where it is meant to rise, but inside the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.
Western Greece woke up angry: rain pounding, wind howling, skies locked behind a curtain of black—the kind of day where even the gods would have stayed indoors with a hot drink.
So the organizers did the sensible thing. They moved the ceremony inside, letting marble statues and quiet halls replace the open ancient grounds. And somehow, the scene felt even older.
The Sun Takes the Day Off, the Backup Flame Takes the Stage
Traditionally, the flame is born from sunlight concentrated through a mirror — a nod to ancient ritual and Greek stubbornness about doing things the proper way.
But with the sun completely missing from the guest list, the team relied on a flame prepared on Monday, during the one hour the weather remembered it was in Greece.
The ceremony unfolded anyway:
- priestesses gliding between sculptures,
- kouroi standing like living statues,
- Greek invocations murmured into the museum’s stone air.
Artistic director Artemis Ignatiou said the setting offered “something special,” describing the museum’s energy as a gift. Performing among statues, she said, gave the ceremony a “timeless feeling.” It was Olympia without the open sky — but still Olympia.
The Torch Leaves Greece With the Same Determination as Always
Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis took the first step of the torch relay, carrying the flame out of the museum and into the rain. From there, the journey continues through Greece until the official handover to Italy on December 4.
Then the flame will travel:
- 63 days
- 12,000 kilometers
- through all 110 Italian provinces
- carried by 10,000 runners
- before reaching San Siro Stadium for the February 6 opening of the Winter Olympics.
Indoors or outdoors, rain or sunlight, the flame begins its pilgrimage as it always does — with ceremony, with symbolism, and with the stubborn promise that the Games will go on, weather permitting or not.
