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A frame of the torch route is displayed on a screen during a news conference to present the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics torch route, in Verona, Italy, Tuesday. [Luca Bruno\/AP Photo]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The Olympic flame for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will pass through all 110 provinces in Italy on a 63-day journey before the cauldron is lit.<\/p>\n
Organizers announced the route for the torch relay on Tuesday at a palace facing the historic Verona Arena, the large Roman amphitheater that will host the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games as well as the opening of the Paralympics.<\/p>\n
The presentation of the 12,000-kilometer route took place exactly a year before the flame will be lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Olympic torch relay is the moment when the Games enter peoples\u2019 homes, spreading the magic of winter sports across Italy,\u201d Milan-Cortina CEO Andrea Varnier said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very important \u2026 it\u2019s the only project that literally takes the Olympics in front of millions of people\u2019s houses.\u201d<\/p>\n
The flame will arrive in Rome on December 4 and will begin its journey across Italy two days later.<\/p>\n
A total of 10,001 people will participate in the torch relay. The flame will travel through Tuscany before going across to the islands of Sardinia and then Sicily \u2013 by sea \u2013 and returning to the Italian mainland on December 19.<\/p>\n
The torch relay, which includes 60 city celebrations, will be in Naples for Christmas and in Bari for New Year\u2019s Eve. It will then travel up the eastern side of Italy and across to the north-west, reaching Torino \u2013 the site of Italy\u2019s last Olympic Games in 2006 \u2013 on January 11.<\/p>\n
While it is in Piedmont, there will be a tribute to Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi, who died last month at the age of 19 following a crash in training.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be something to honor her I promise, also because it was her dream to participate in these Olympics,\u201d said Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago, who also leads the organizing committee for the Milan-Cortina Games.<\/p>\n
The torch will arrive in Verona on January 18 and reach Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo eight days later \u2013 on the 70th anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1956 Winter Olympics there.<\/p>\n
The torch will conclude its journey in Milan, entering the San Siro stadium on Feb. 6 for the opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
Full details on how to apply to be a torch bearer will be announced in February.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will choose the participants focusing on their stories of courage, of those who have had experience of peace, inclusion and respect,\u201d said Milan-Cortina ceremonies director Maria Laura Iascone.<\/p>\n
The Milan-Cortina Games will run from February 6-22, followed by the Paralympics from March 6-15. The flame for the Paralympics will be lit in the British town of Stoke Mandeville and will be carried by 501 people.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery step through our cities will become a moment of celebration and reflection, reminding us of the power of sport to build bridges and break down barriers,\u201d Malago, said. \u201cWhen the flames will travel through our streets, they will touch millions with a unique and unforgettable warmth: the kind only sport can convey.<\/p>\n
\u201cIgniting in people\u2019s hearts the sense of being part of something bigger, the Olympic torch relay and Paralympic torch relay will be unique opportunities for Italy to shine, once again, on the world stage.\u201d [AP]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n