Winter Olympics 2026 Flame Arrives In Milan

Last Updated:February 06, 2026, 08:41 IST

The Olympic flame arrived in Milan for the 2026 Winter Games, featuring JD Vance, Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Chloe Kim, and protests by Greenpeace against Eni's sponsorship.

The Olympic flame arrived in Milan on Thursday, ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Games. US Vice President JD Vance also arrived, bringing a message of unity for the American team.

The most geographically dispersed Games in history will officially commence with a ceremony at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Friday. The event will also take place across three other sites in the Dolomite mountains and Italian Alps.

A cauldron will be lit under the city’s Arch of Peace, marking the end of the flame’s journey through Milan’s streets. Another Olympic cauldron will be lit in the resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, where the women’s alpine skiing events are held.

US Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Milan to attend the ceremony, which will feature performances by singer Mariah Carey, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

Vance aimed to set politics aside during his visit to Team USA athletes. “The whole country, Democrat, Republican, independent, we’re all rooting for you, and we’re cheering for you," he told them. “This is one of the few things that unites the entire country. I hope you win as many medals as possible."

Vance later met International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, who is overseeing her first Games since her election last March, at a heads of state dinner. Their meeting held added significance as Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Controversy has arisen in Italy ahead of the Milan-Cortina Games due to the revelation that agents from the US immigration enforcement agency ICE will have an “advisory" role at the Games. Rome has denied that the agents will have any operational role on its soil.

Chloe Kim, a prominent US athlete and reigning Olympic snowboard champion, appeared to address President Donald Trump’s divisive immigration policies in an Instagram post. Announcing her arrival, Kim expressed pride in representing a country that is “strongest when it embraces diversity, dignity, and hope." She added, “My parents left South Korea in search of a better future for their family. They left behind everything they knew so that my sisters and I could have the chance to one day live the American dream."

The first day of the ice hockey competition faced a setback when a women’s game between defending champions Canada and Finland was postponed due to Finnish players falling ill with norovirus. The game is rescheduled for February 12, but other women’s games proceeded. The USA began their bid to improve on their silver medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics by defeating the Czech Republic 5-1.

Men’s downhill skiers experienced the Stelvio piste in Bormio for the second time, where they will compete for gold on Saturday in the first major highlight of the Games. American skier Lindsey Vonn, the biggest star of these Olympics, will test her injured leg on Friday after the first women’s downhill training in Cortina d’Ampezzo was cancelled due to heavy snow. Vonn’s Olympic comeback at age 41 depends on her ability to ski with a ruptured ACL.

Snowboarding commenced with the men’s big air competition in Livigno, where defending champion Su Yiming of China survived a major scare.

Greenpeace activists protested in Milan against the sponsorship of the Games by energy giant Eni, warning that fossil fuel emissions threaten the viability of winter sports. They displayed banners reading “Kick polluters out of the Games" and set up a model of the Olympic rings covered in black oil. Greenpeace Italia stated, “Sponsorships like Eni’s for Milan-Cortina 2026 are not innocent; they are a distraction to make us forget the damage these companies are causing to the planet."

(With Agency Inputs)

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