Bad weather forces organizers to cheat in lightning Olympic fire for Milan Games

Poor weather conditions dampened the magic of the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony, which began its journey on November 26 toward the Milan–Cortina Winter Games.

Heavy rain and winds battering western Greece forced organizers to move the ceremony indoors, shifting it from the ancient stadium and temples of Olympia to a nearby museum, as reported by AP.

Traditionally, the flame is ignited by concentrating the sun’s rays with a concave mirror. But with thick overcast skies, officials resorted to a backup flame that had been kindled during a brief moment of sunshine at this week's rehearsal.

Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis initiated the torch relay, which will be carried across Italy by roughly 10,000 runners before the February 6–22 competition.

After a short tour through Greece and a handover on December 4, the flame will embark on a 63-day, 12,000-kilometer relay across all 110 Italian provinces, highlighting cultural landmarks and sporting venues before arriving at Milan’s San Siro Stadium for the opening ceremony.

“Over the next few weeks, the Olympic flame will pass through all the Italian provinces, 60 cities, 300 towns, 20 regions and all the UNESCO sites. It will travel from the northern peaks to the southern shores,” said Giovanni Malagò, head of the Milan–Cortina Organizing Committee.

Speakers at the opening event also urged global leaders to honour the spirit of the Olympic Truce—an ancient Greek tradition calling for the suspension of conflicts during the Games to ensure safe participation.

“Today humanity is going through a time of multiple and parallel crises. Wars proliferate from Europe to the Middle East and from Asia to Africa. So we should honestly admit that a society at war is a failed society,” said Aristidis Panayiotopoulos, the mayor of Ancient Olympia. “The flame allows us to again recall the values that guide humanity, values that were born and forged here.”

Despite the indoor setting, the ceremony preserved its traditional elements: stylized dance movements performed by women portraying priestesses and men portraying kouroi, alongside Greek-language invocations to the ancient gods.

A separate flame for the March 06–15 Winter Paralympics will be lit on February 24 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.

By Nazrin Sadigova