MILAN (ITALPRESS) – Milan Cortina 2026 unveils the complete path of the Paralympic Flame: from February 24 to March 6, Fiamma will travel over 2,000 kilometres across Italy, involving 501 Tedofori and animating for 10 days cities and communities with Flame Festivals and Flame Visits, celebratory events that will bring a strong and shared message of unity and inclusion in the country. The route will culminate on March 6 at the Arena di Verona, ready to host the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Paralympics of Milan Cortina 2026 and give way to the maximum sporting event in the world for people with disabilities.
“The Journey of Paralympic Flame tells the deepest legacy of the Games: cultural and social. Each stage will be an opportunity to celebrate sport as a force capable of joining communities, promoting inclusion and looking to the future with confidence and responsibility, bringing in Italy the values of the Paralympic Movement – says Giovanni Malagò, President of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 -. It is a path that speaks to the whole country, which involves territories, institutions and citizens in a great collective embrace. Fiamma will become the symbol of an Italy that believes in merit, courage and ability to overcome every limit, paying homage to athletes who embody these extraordinary values every day”.
Allianz, Global Insurance Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements since 2021, has been engaged since 2006 with the International Paralympic Committee for the Promotion of Inclusivity and Resilience. As a presenting partner, he will accompany the Journey of the Paralympic Flame of Milan Cortina 2026, sharing the commitment to promoting sport as an instrument of participation and integration. “Allianz supports the Travel of Paralympic Flame in Italy as Presenting Partner to promote and bring more and more people to the values of the Paralympic Movement that the Allianz Group has been supporting since 2006,” says Giacomo Campora, CEO of Allianz SpA.
The Paralympic Flame will be on 24 February in Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom, the historic cradle of the Paralympic Movement. From here will start a journey that will tell how sport can be a change engine. From the United Kingdom, the Paralympic Flame will make its return to Italy arriving in Turin, the first stage of its national route. The Fiamma route will pay tribute to the Paralympic history of the country, from the first edition of the Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960 to Turin 2006, when Italy first hosted the Winter Paralympics, marking a fundamental step in promoting inclusion through sport.
From February 24th to March 2nd, Fiamma will animate the five Flame Festivals: Turin (24 February), Milan (25 February), Bolzano (27 February), Trento (28 February) and Trieste (2 March), transforming each stage into an opportunity of participation and celebration of the Paralympic community and its values. At the same time, the journey will be enriched by Flame Visits, events of piazza that Allianz and Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 wanted to organize to expand the Trip of the Paralympic Flame also to the Centre and South Italy, with four stages scheduled on February 26 in Rome, on February 27 in Bari, on March 2 in Naples and March 3 in Bologna. Also on March 3rd, the five Flame Festivals will arrive in Cortina d’Ampezzo, converging in the evocative Ceremony of Union and creating a single Paralympic Flame.
“The Journey of Paralympic Flame is a moving tale, a luminous thread that combines territories, stories and people. Each stage is conceived as a moment of authentic encounter, able to leave a mark and expand the embrace of the Paralympic Games with a contemporary language, exciting and deeply human. The Paralympic Flame brings shared values and a deep sense of belonging: we want every stage to leave a memory that continues to live beyond the passage of the Flame”, says Maria Laura Iascone, Director of the Ceremonies of the Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.
After the union ceremony in Cortina, on 4 March the Fiamma will travel the streets of Auronzo di Cadore, Pieve di Cadore, Longarone, Belluno, Treviso and Mestre, to reach Venice, where the first stage celebration will be held, transforming the passage into a moment of meeting and sharing with citizens, schools and associations. On 5 March he will continue his journey through Castelfranco Veneto, Asolo, Bassano del Grappa, Thiene and Vicenza, until he arrives in Padua for the second stage celebration, bringing enthusiasm and participation throughout the Veneto. On March 6, after the passage to Monselice, Rovigo, Legnago, Nogara and Isola della Scala, Fiamma will conclude its journey to the Arena di Verona, the opening ceremony of the Winter Paralympic Games of Milan Cortina 2026. It will be a historical moment: for the first time, in fact, a UNESCO site will host the opening of Paralympics, writing a new page in the history of the Games. The arrival of the Flame in Verona will mark the official start of the Winter Paralympic Games in Milan Cortina 2026.
– Photo Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 –
(ITALPRESS).
