Flame reaches Italian city of Bologna a month before the 2026 Winter Olympics begin
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Former Italian football player Fabio Cannavaro with the torch during the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics Torch Relay in Naples on Dec 23, 2025.
PHOTO: REUTERS
BOLOGNA – The Olympic torch made its way through heavy snow to reach the northern Italian city of Bologna on Jan 6, with just a month to go until the start of the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
The flame began its journey across Italy from Rome in December and has been to the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, as well as the southern cities of Naples and Bari as part of a 12,000km journey that will end at Milan’s San Siro stadium on Feb 6.
The relay on Jan 6 took in the Formula One circuit in Imola, although its progress was slowed by snow that blanketed the Emilia-Romagna region.
Teenage presenters from local broadcaster Radioimmaginaria, who helped to carry the torch across Bologna, dedicated their run to peers killed in a New Year’s Eve fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana. Giovanni Tamburi, a 16-year-old from Bologna, was one of those who died in the blaze.
The relay has been part of efforts to generate excitement across the country before the Games that will be staged at a variety of locations, with the financial capital Milan and the alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo as the two main bases.
As the Games approach, concerns over whether competition venues will be ready and accessible appear to be easing after weeks of uncertainty.
The International Olympic Committee’s executive director Christophe Dubi said on Jan 6 that he was confident everything would be prepared on time, despite serious concerns.
Delays have hampered the preparation of some of the Milano-Cortina Olympic event sites, such as those used for ice hockey, snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
“We’re at the stage where everything is coming together, with just a month to go to the opening ceremony,” Dubi told AFP in a written response to questions.
“The preparation is moving from the planning phase to the full operational implementation across all clusters.
“Recent test events – speed skating, ice hockey and last weekend the biathlon at Val di Fiemme – confirmed the readiness and provided us with valuable final information. All these things strengthen our confidence.”
Johan Eliasch, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also said on Jan 6 that preparations were back on schedule
Milano-Cortina chief Andre Varnier also assured AFP on Jan 5 that the snow production was progressing as forecast.
The Santagiulia Arena in Milan, which will host the final stages of the ice hockey tournament, will be opened this week, a month behind schedule.
Additional tickets went on sale on Jan 7 for the women’s alpine ski races in Cortina, local organisers said, indicating that some of the fears over transport issues had eased.
Reuters reported in November that ticket sales for the Cortina venues had been capped because of worries over congestion and access to the alpine resort.
Meanwhile, NBCUniversal has sold out advertising spots for the Olympics
More than 100 new advertisers have signed on, making it the biggest broadcast and digital revenue earner in Winter Olympics history and the highest grossing Winter Games of all time, NBCUniversal said.
That adds credence to Eliasch’s insistence that the Winter Olympics should not be diluted with novelty events
“I saw some videos of bicycles doing slalom in a slalom course,” he said. “Sure, you can invent anything, but quite frankly, water skiing would have more to do with the Olympic Winter Games than this. At least it’s sliding, and it’s key, right?”
The International Cycling Union has been campaigning for the addition of cyclo-cross, a sport where races are often contested in brutal weather and sometimes snow, to the 2030 Winter Games programme in the French Alps.
Eliasch said straying too far from the Winter Games’ core identity risks weakening their appeal rather than broadening it.
“What is so important – and I have been developing brands and formats my entire life – is that if you’re not true to your brand and your brand identity, the appreciation of the brand goes downhill,” he said.
“We are snow and ice. It’s even in the Olympic Charter,” Eliasch added.
“I’m not saying here that we shouldn’t be open to all possibilities, but clearly what we should focus on first is to make sure that we have the best athletes with the best performance of the best sports.
“It’s quality, not quantity. Quantity will not sell the Winter Games.”
REUTERS, AFP
