Ancient Olympia held an emergency dress rehearsal on Monday (24/11) for the lighting of the torch for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, as organizers braced for bad weather that was expected to disrupt the official ceremony on Wednesday (26/11).
Greek actress Mary Mina, who plays the High Priestess, used sunlight and a concave mirror to light the flame next to the 2,500-year-old Temple of Hera. After a short performance inspired by ancient Greek mythology in the historic stadium, Mary Mina handed the flame and an olive branch to the first torchbearer.
The flame lit on Monday will serve as a backup flame. Due to cloudy weather and the possibility of rain, the Greek Olympic Committee announced that the final dress rehearsal on Tuesday (November 25) and the ceremony on Wednesday will be moved indoors to the Archaeological Museum near the starting site.
Maria Mina (front), playing the role of the ancient Greek High Priestess, lights the flame during a dress rehearsal of the Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Ancient Olympia, Greece, on November 24, 2025. (ANTARA/Xinhua/Lyu You)
Greece's Olympic rowing bronze medalist, Petros Gkaidatzis, will be the first torchbearer in the relay. He replaces Alexandros Ginnis, who withdrew after suffering an injury during training. In a letter to the organizing committee, Ginnis said he was deeply saddened by the loss and needed to focus on his recovery ahead of the Winter Olympics.
Gkaidatzis said he was "deeply honored" to be chosen as the first torchbearer.
"For me, carrying the Olympic flame is as honorable as winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics," he said.
The torch relay will begin after Wednesday's ceremony and travel 2,200 kilometers across Greece before being handed over to Italy at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on December 4.
