Severe weather delays Olympic flame

Due to expected severe weather on Thursday, the handover of the Olympic flame to the Italian delegation for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo will only take place in a greatly shortened form.

03 December 2025

From: dpa

The Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) announced that the artistic program will be cancelled; only the ceremonial part of the event will be shown – with fewer participants than originally planned.

For security reasons, the HOC also cancelled the participation of school groups. Thousands of children from the Athens region will therefore be unable to experience the traditional moment in the Panathenaic Stadium, built entirely of marble and the venue for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

The handover is scheduled to begin as planned on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. local time (10:00 a.m. CET). The Olympic flame was lit in Olympia on November 26. The torch relay is scheduled to begin in Italy on Saturday. The Winter Games are to open on February 6.