Overview
- The Handover Ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4 at 11:00 local time at Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium, where Hellenic Olympic Committee president Isidoros Kouvelos will pass the Flame to Milano‑Cortina 2026 president Giovanni Malagò.
- Jasmine Paolini, the Milano‑Cortina ambassador and current WTA No. 8 with Paris 2024 doubles gold, will run the final Greek leg alongside Olympic cyclist Filippo Ganna.
- The Greek relay concludes with the cauldron lighting by Greece’s women’s water polo players, including Elena Xenaki, before the formal transfer.
- The Flame will land in Rome on an ITA Airways flight at 17:00 on Dec. 4, with Malagò and Paolini first to disembark carrying the lantern.
- Italy’s relay departs Rome on the evening of Dec. 5 to visit roughly 110 cities en route to Milan’s San Siro for the Feb. 6, 2026 opening, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Melissa Satta confirmed as torchbearers.