ACHILLE LAURO,
FLAVIA PENNETTA AND FRANCESCO BAGNAIA
Alongside
the artist and the Italian sports champions, three Torchbearers with incredible
stories have also been announced: Andrea and Franco Antonello, symbols of
resilience and love, Dario Pivirotto, who has already carried the Olympic Flame
at the Cortina 1956 and Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, and Lucia Tellone,
the chef who turned the art of bread-making into a symbol of sharing and
rebirth.
Milan, 26 September 2025 – The wait is almost
over: Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 announces the first six Torchbearers of
the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, exactly two months before the
lighting of the Olympic Flame. The newly revealed names are
part of the 10,001 Torchbearers who will take part in the Torch Relay, starting
on 6 December from Rome. Over two months, the Olympic Flame will cross Italy
before arriving at Milano’s Stadio San Siro for the Opening Ceremony on 6
February 2026. They include three outstanding talents who greatly represent the
contemporary and innovative Italian spirit of the upcoming Olympic Winter
Games, and three powerful and inspiring stories that embody the values of the
Olympic Flame, an universal symbol of union and peace.
The first Torchbearers come from the worlds of sport and
entertainment: Achille Lauro, an artist with a unique identity, one of the
most remarkable figures in the Italian music scene; Flavia Pennetta, an Italian
tennis icon, winner of the 2015 US Open and four Billie Jean King Cups with
Team Italy; Francesco Bagnaia, two-time MotoGP World Champion and Moto2
World Champion, a symbol of courage, determination, and speed.
The inspiring stories include Andrea and Franco Antonello,
examples of resilience and love. Andrea, a young man with autism, and his
father Franco chose to transform the challenge of disability into an
extraordinary journey. Together, they share a universal message of hope and
inclusion.
Then, Dario Pivirotto, born in 1936 in Vinigo di Cadore,
who has already carried the Olympic Flame during the Cortina 1956 and Torino
2006 Olympic Winter Games. He embodies continuity and timeless passion for
sport across generations. Lastly, Lucia Tellone, a chef from Abruzzo who gave a
new life to her little town’s community oven after 35 years of disuse. For the
past five years, she has been teaching children and adults the art of
bread-making for free, showing how a simple gesture can become a symbol of
community, sharing, and rebirth.
The journey toward the Olympic Torch Relay will be
recounted through three announcement moments, each bringing to light new
emotions and unique stories:
•
26 September 2025 – introduction of the
first Torchbearers;
•
26 October 2025 –
second announcement with new protagonists;
• 26 November 2025 – lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia.
The Olympic Torch Relay 2
The Olympic Torch Relay will last 63 days, cover 12,000
kilometres and pass through 60 stage cities. It will begin on 26 November 2025
in Olympia, with the traditional lighting of the sacred fire, which will then
arrive in Italy, in Rome, on 4 December. Two days later, on 6 December, the
Olympic Torch Relay will officially begin.
The Olympic Flame will reach Naples on Christmas Day and
celebrate the New Year in Bari. On 26 January 2026, it will return to Cortina
d’Ampezzo, exactly 70 years after the Opening Ceremony of the 1956 Olympic
Winter Games. It will then conclude its journey in Milan on 6 February 2026,
entering Stadio San Siro.
The journey is also designed to pay tribute to the
extraordinary cultural and historical heritage of Italy, which is indeed the
country with the largest number of UNESCO sites worldwide.
Coca-Cola and Eni are the Presenting Partner of the Olympic
Torch Relay and they will be along during this last stretch before the Milano
Cortina 2026 Games kick off.
The Beginning in Greece
The Torch Relay will begin in Greece with the traditional
lighting of the Olympic Flame in Olympia on 26 November 2025. On 4 December
2025, the Olympic Flame Handover Ceremony will be held in Athens. On 6
December, the Olympic flame will ignite Rome and the whole Country with the
start of the Journey.
Key Dates
•
26 November 2025: Olympic
Flame lighting in Olympia;
•
4 December 2025: Handover Ceremony in
Athens and arrival of the Flame in Roma;
•
6 December 2025: Start of the Olympic
Flame Relay in Roma;
•
23 December 2025: Arrival in Naples;
•
31 December 2025: New Year’s Eve in Bari;
•
26 January 2026: Arrival in Cortina
d’Ampezzo, on the day of the 70th anniversary of the
Opening Ceremony of the
Cortina 1956 Olympic Winter Games.
•
6 February 2026: Opening Ceremony of the
Olympic Winter Games at San Siro Olympic
Stadium.
for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games