Overview
- The ceremony moved from the ancient stadium to the Archaeological Museum of Ancient Olympia due to poor weather forecasts, with the torch ignited using a flame kindled during a sunny Nov. 24 rehearsal.
- Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis opened the relay, joined by Italian champion Stefania Belmondo, before the torch passed to luge great Armin Zoeggeler as a nine‑day Greek leg proceeds toward a Dec. 4 handover in Athens.
- After the handover, organizers plan a 63‑day, roughly 12,000‑kilometer route across all 110 Italian provinces with about 10,000 torchbearers, culminating at Milan’s San Siro on Feb. 6 for the opening ceremony.
- Senior figures, including IOC President Kirsty Coventry, Thomas Bach and organizing chief Giovanni Malagò, attended, with Coventry delivering an emotional appeal for unity through sport.
- Context for the launch includes reporting of cost overruns and construction setbacks for the Italian Games, as organizers point to a program of 116 medal events, the Olympic debut of ski mountaineering, higher female participation and the return of NHL players.