Mary Mina holds the torch for Paris 2024. On November 26, she is set to kindle the Flame for Milano Cortina.
Plans revealed for Olympic Flame’s nine days in Greece
by Philip Barker
Alpine skier Alexandros “AJ” Ginnis and water polo player Eleni Xenaki will both have the opportunity to hold the Torch for Milano Cortina as further details of the Flame Lighting Ceremonies in Greece were revealed at the Olympic Museum in Athens.
Ginnis, who won slalom silver at the 2023 World Championships, is to receive the Flame in Ancient Olympia on November 26.
“It was an incredible feeling when I learned I would be the first Torchbearer. It filled me with pride and emotion — it’s an honour I will carry with me for a lifetime,” Ginnis said.
The role of High Priestess is played by actress Mary Mina, who previously kindled the Flame for Paris 2024 in a Ceremony once again choreographed by Artemis Ignatiou.
Xenaki, who won World Championship gold with Greece earlier this year in Singapore, will be the final Torchbearer on Greek soil before the Flame is handed over to representatives of Milano Cortina on December 4 in the traditional ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
“It’s a unique feeling, something that will remain in all our hearts. The Flame is more than a symbol. It carries dreams, values, and strength, and I’m very proud that my teammates and I will represent all that it stands for,” Xenaki added.
This provides a further echo of the Paris ceremony when Ioannis Fountoulis , skipper of the men’s water polo team which won Olympic silver in Tokyo was the final bearer.
Music for the Ceremonies will again be composed by Dimitris Papadimitriou who famously conducted Nana Mouskouri leading the choir in “La Marseillaise.”
The nine-day itinerary for the journey through Greece covers some 2,200 kilometres and includes Pyrgos, Patras, Karpenisi, Metsovo, Kastoria, Drama, Thessaloniki, Portaria, Arachova before reaching Athens. Spectators will be able to track the torch with a new “app.”
“As part of our digital transformation and improved organisation of the Torch Relay, the Hellenic Olympic Committee is developing a mobile application, an innovative tool that will significantly assist the work of the support team,” HOC Torch Relay Commission President Thomas Tokas explained.
“The app will include GPS tracking of the route with a live map of the Flame and connection to the accompanying vehicle, as well as announcements, news, and articles to ensure continuous updates and interactivity.”
The HOC have worked with the Greek Ministry of education and department of physical education to invite schoolchildren from Ilia and Messinia to the Lighting Ceremony and youngsters from Attica to attend the handover in Athens.
This had been impossible when the last Winter Flame was lit for Beijing 2022 because precautions against COVID-19 were still in force.
“We want to give children and young people the place they deserve to see, feel, and be inspired by the light of Olympia, because the Flame is not just a symbol of sport it is a lesson in life,” insisted HOC President Isidoros Kouvelos.
The Flame is to be taken to Rome where a 63-day Relay across Italy is scheduled to begin on December 6.
The journey of the Torch is set to end on February 6, 2026 at the Opening Ceremony in Milan’s fabled San Siro Stadium.
Subscribers can read a special article about the 1948 visit of the Flame to Milan in the latest issue of the Journal of Olympic History.
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