For the next two weeks, the Milan Cortina Olympics in Italy are going to dominate the 2026 TV schedule. Before the opening ceremonies kick off, which you can watch with a Peacock subscription, it’s a good time to look at how far the Olympic torch traveled and what stars took part in the traditional relay. It includes everyone’s favorite Olympic commentator, Snoop Dogg, and legendary action star Jackie Chan.
The Olympic torch relay has become a huge tradition over the past 100 years or so, since the first relay before the 1928 games in Amsterdam. I vividly remember getting to see the torch go by in St. Louis, MO, when I was a kid, as it headed for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. It will likely be doing a similar trek across the U.S. in two years when L.A. will host The Games again, but first, it took a long route around Italy.
By The Numbers
The sheer number of miles traveled is pretty staggering. As is tradition, the relay began in Greece. The torch was lit on November 24th at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. From there, the relay began at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympics. It then passed through the hands of 450 torchbearers, covering 1,400 miles (2,200 km) across most of the country. It arrived in Athens on December 4th, and the handoff at the Panathenaic Stadium for the Italian leg was begun.
The torch arrived in Rome, its first stop in the host country, later on December 4th. By the time it reaches San Siro Stadium in Milan for the opening ceremonies, 10,001 runners will have carried it over 7,400 miles. That includes traveling through all 20 regions of Italy and 110 provinces. It will have made 60 stops over 63 days in that time. One of those stops was in Cortina d’Ampezzo on January 26th, just in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Winter Olympics there. You might know that town from the Roger Moore-era Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.
The Stars Came Out To Carry The Torch
As is tradition, the vast majority of the runners are former Olympic athletes and well-known athletes from other sports, usually most famous in the host country. As such, a huge number of Greek and Italian sports stars carried the torch on its journey. That includes some well-known European soccer players, like Robert Pires, Fabio Cannavaro, and Cesc Fàbregas. Italian Formula 1 driver Kimi Antonelli also got in on the action.
U.S. Ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, carried the torch in that country, along with American billionaire and owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong. The U.S. Ambassador to Italy, who owns the Houston Rockets in the NBA, Tilman Fertitta, ran a leg in Italy, and it’s in Italy where things got really fun.
Snoop Dogg, who might have started as a Gangsta rapper, has reinvented himself as America’s sweetheart (and coach on The Voice), ran part of the relay through the streets of Milan. Jackie Chan picked up the torch for a jaunt through the ruins of Pompeii.
Appropriately, the stars of a show about ice hockey, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, from Heated Rivalry, one of the hottest shows available with an HBO Max subscription, each took a turn in the town of Feltre. Italian actress Alessandra Mastronardi, who American audiences know from Master of None, available with a Netflix subscription, and the Nicolas Cage flick The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, got a chance to carry the torch as well.
All that’s left now is who will get the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremonies, which in the past has included sports luminaries like Mohammed Ali and Wayne Gretzky.
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