Rome, Dec. 5 -- The Olympic flame for the 2026 Winter Games arrived in Rome, Italy on Thursday afternoon, marking the start of a series of torch relay events.
Protected in a lantern, the flame landed at Rome's Fiumicino Airport around 5 pm, and was carried off the airplane by Italian Olympic tennis champion Jasmine Paolini and Giovanni Malago, president of the Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee.
At around 7 pm, Italian President Sergio Mattarella received the flame at the Quirinale Palace, marking the beginning of the ceremonies leading to the official start of the flame journey on December 6.
Malago said that the arrival of the Olympic flame in Italy and its handover to President Mattarella are moments of great emotion on the road ...