Photo gallery: Olympic flame lit for Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

The Olympic flame is now on its way to the 2026 Winter Games that begin Feb. 6 in Milan-Cortina, Italy.

The traditional ceremony held in Olympia, Greece, had to be moved indoors Wednesday due to bad weather. A backup flame, ignited during a rehearsal Monday by focusing the sun’s rays with a concave mirror, was used to light the first torch.

The torch relay that will carry the flame across Italy to the Opening Ceremonies of the world’s next Olympics was launched by Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis. Some 10,000 runners are expected to participate in the relay set to begin in Rome on Dec. 6 after winding through Greece.

The flame is expected to travel for 63 days over nearly 7,500 miles, with 60 stops across 110 provinces and more than 300 municipalities in Italy before being used to light the Olympic cauldron that will burn throughout the 2026 Winter Games.

Giovanni Malagò, CEO of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026, said at the ceremony that “it is impossible not to be inspired and moved by the weight of the history and tradition that fills the air here, in the heart of our great Olympic Movement.”