Fans hoping to attend Wednesday’s Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony in Athens will be disappointed, as the Hellenic Olympic Committee announced Sunday that spectators will not be permitted at the relocated venue due to limited capacity.
With Greece facing severe weather and more rain expected, the national Olympic committee and event organizers have decided to move the ceremony indoors to the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. “This change was deemed necessary to ensure everyone’s safety and to preserve the dignity of the ceremony,” the committee stated.
“Due to the extremely limited capacity of the space, public attendance is no longer possible, while guests will be informed who will have the right to enter the Museum. We sincerely regret this change and any inconvenience it may cause,” the NOC added.
The Winter Games’ torch is set to be lit on Wednesday, performed by the High Priestess in the Temple of Hera. Traditionally, it takes place in the archaeological site of Olympia, where the priestess asks the help of the sun god Apollo to light the flame.
Once the flame is ignited, it will make its way across Greece before beginning its journey to the host nation. This year’s relay will last nine days and cover 2,200 kilometres, passing through major sites across mainland Greece. Its route is designed to celebrate the country’s cultural heritage as well as its 12 largest ski resorts, underscoring Greece’s growing connection to winter sports and alpine tourism.
On 4 December, at Athens’ Panathenaic Stadium — the site of the first modern Olympic Games — the flame will be ceremonially handed over from the Hellenic Olympic Committee to the Milano Cortina Organising Committee for its transport to Italy. The flame’s Italian relay will begin on 6 December at Rome’s historic Stadio dei Marmi.
From there, it will visit famous destinations such as Tuscany, Sardinia, Sicily and Pompei, before spending Christmas in Naples and New Year’s Eve in Bari. It will visit many of Italy’s most famous and important sites, including the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, the Venetian Grand Canal and one of the highest peaks in the Alps, the 4,554m Punta Gnifetti in the Monte Rosa massif.
The torch will arrive in Cortina d’Ampezzo on 26 January, exactly 70 years after the Opening Ceremony of the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games. The relay will reach a thrilling conclusion on 5-6 February, when the torch arrives in Milan ahead of the opening ceremony.
