THE MILANO CORTINA 2026 OLYMPIC FLAME HAS ARRIVED IN ITALY

Departing from Athens this morning, the lantern safeguarding the flame of the Games landed at Roma Fiumicino Airport accompanied by Giovanni Malagò and Olympic champion Jasmine Paolini.

The Flame was delivered into the hands of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, ahead of the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Torch Relay Celebration Cauldron scheduled tomorrow, 5 December, in Piazza del Quirinale.
Roma, 4 December 2025 – At 5:00 pm today, the ITA Airways flight from Athens carrying the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame landed at Roma Fiumicino “Leonardo da Vinci” Airport. Protected inside its lantern, the fire that will ignite the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games arrived from Greece accompanied by Giovanni Malagò, President of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, and Olympic Champion Jasmine Paolini.
From Greece to Italy: the Flame Handover Ceremony to Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 in Athens

After the Lighting Ceremony held in Olympia on 26 November, the Flame travelled across Greece, passing through the hands of Greek rower Petros Gaïdatzis, bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Italian Olympic legends Stefania Belmondo, Armin Zoeggler, and more than 450 torchbearers along a 2,200-km route that led it to Athens. In the Greek capital, this morning - 4 December - at the Panathenaic Stadium, the Handover Ceremony of the Flame to the Organising Committee of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games took place, with two exceptional torchbearers: Olympic cycling champion Filippo Ganna and Jasmine Paolini, gold medalist at Paris 2024 and an icon of international tennis. Jasmine Paolini had the opportunity to carry the Olympic Torch in Athens thanks to Milano Cortina 2026 and Coca-Cola, Presenting Partner of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame Journey. The Ceremony featured the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvelos, and Giovanni Malagò, President of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026. Also present at this highly symbolic moment were the Mayor of Milano, Giuseppe Sala; the Mayor of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Gianluca Lorenzi; the CEO of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, Andrea Varnier; and a delegation of the Organising Committee. The Ceremony marked the official handover of the Flame to Italy. It was then Giovanni Malagò, together with Jasmine Paolini - chosen as an Ambassador of Milano Cortina 2026 to bring the Flame home - who stepped off the plane at Rome Fiumicino Airport holding the lantern containing the fire that will give life to the Games.

The Arrival at the Quirinale: the Handover to the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella

 After landing at Fiumicino, the Olympic Flame reached the Quirinale Palace. In the presence of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 President Giovanni Malagò, CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio, and CONI General Secretary Carlo Mornati, Jasmine Paolini officially delivered the lantern containing the Olympic Flame into the hands of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, in a moment of profound institutional and emotional significance. The delivery of the Olympic Flame to the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella marks the beginning of the ceremonial programme leading to the official start of the Flame Journey on 6 December. On Friday, 5 December, the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame Torch Relay Celebration Cauldron will take place in Piazza del Quirinale. On Saturday, 6 December, at Rome’s Stadio dei Marmi “Pietro Mennea”, the Inaugural Ceremony will officially launch the Olympic Torch Relay across Italy. The start of the Olympic Torch Relay will mark the beginning of a 12,000 km route that, over 60 days, will illuminate more than 300 municipalities, touch all 110 Italian provinces, and carry the Olympic values of friendship, excellence , and respect across the country - aiming to spark nationwide enthusiasm ahead of the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on 6 February 2026.
 Giovanni Malagò, President of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, commented on the arrival of the Olympic Flame:
“The arrival of the Olympic Flame in Italy and its delivery to President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace are moments of great emotion on our path toward Milano Cortina 2026. In the coming days, this fire will cross our country from north to south, reaching cities, communities, and diverse territories, reminding us of the beauty of the differences that make Italy unique in the world. It will illuminate many UNESCO Heritage Sites, becoming a symbol of enthusiasm, harmony, and collective participation. On the journey that will accompany Italy toward the Opening Ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, the Olympic Flame will 2 pass into the hands of more than 10,000 torchbearers from every region, reminding us of sport’s unique power to unite, inspire, and build the future.”

FONDAZIONE MILANO CORTINA 2026

The objective of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, in agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP), Città di Milano and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Regione Veneto and Regione Lombardia, Province autonome di Trento and Bolzano, is to plan, organise, finance and implement the Milano Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2026. Established on 9 December 2019, Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 is led by

President Giovanni Malagò and CEO Andrea Varnier.
 
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