Olympic flame begins its journey to Milan Cortina Olympics

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ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece. The Olympic flame began its journey to the Cortina Winter Games in Milan on Wednesday, having lost some of its usual magic.

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Bad weather plaguing western Greece forced organizers to move the torch-lighting ceremony indoors, from the ancient stadium and temples of Olympia to a nearby museum.

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The flame is ignited by focusing the sun's rays with a concave mirror. But because the skies were overcast, officials used a backup flame lit during the brief sunshine at Monday's rehearsal.

Greek rower Petros Gaidatzis launched the torch relay, which will be carried through the host nation by around 10,000 runners once it reaches Italy ahead of the competition from February 6 to 22.

The sun finally emerged over a rain-drenched Olympia during an indoor ceremony Wednesday.

“It's incredibly memorable and a little emotional for me to stand here,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who watched her first torch lighting since being elected to the post in March. “It feels like the past and present truly connect. We're thrilled that today's ceremony reminds us what the games mean.”

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Italy is hosting its third Winter Games, but preparations have been hampered by cost overruns and construction delays.

Organizers say fans have a lot to look forward to: a program including 116 medals, the debut of alpine skiing, increased female participation and the return of NHL players to Olympic hockey.

After a short tour of Greece and handover on December 4, the flame will begin a 63-day, 12,000-kilometre relay through all 110 Italian provinces, illuminating cultural sites and host venues, before reaching Milan's San Siro stadium for the opening ceremony.

“Over the next few weeks, the Olympic flame will pass through all Italian provinces, 60 cities, 300 villages, 20 regions and all UNESCO sites. It will pass from the northern peaks to the southern shores,” said Giovanni Malago, head of the Milan Cortina organizing committee. Speakers at Wednesday's ceremony called on world leaders to recognize the spirit of the “Olympic Truce,” an ancient Greek tradition that suspends conflict during the games to ensure safe participation.

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“Today, humanity is experiencing a time of multiple and parallel crises. Wars are spreading from Europe to the Middle East and from Asia to Africa. Therefore, we must honestly admit that a society at war is a failed society,” said the mayor of Ancient Olympia, Aristidis Panagiotopoulos. “The flame allows us to once again remember the values ​​that guide humanity, values ​​that were born and forged here.”

Despite the move indoors, Wednesday's ceremony retained its traditional elements: sculptural dance gestures by performers dressed as priestesses and male kuroi, and invocations of ancient gods in Greek.

Artemis Ignatiou, the ceremony's artistic director, said the team had prepared for the possibility of bad weather and that despite the setback, “we got something special: the energy of the museum and the archaeological space itself.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Ignatiu said dancing among the statues “gave the ceremony a sense of timelessness.”

A separate flame for the Paralympic Winter Games, which runs from March 6 to 15, will be lit on February 24 at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, the birthplace of the Paralympic movement.

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