ATHENS :The torch-lighting ceremony next week for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be relocated from the ancient stadium in Greece's Olympia to an indoor hall at a nearby museum due to bad weather, organisers said on Sunday.

The torch is traditionally ignited using the sun’s rays and a parabolic mirror in an elaborate outdoor ceremony at the site of the ancient Games, with actresses playing priestesses and appealing to sun god Apollo for his help.

But the area in the western Peloponnese has seen consecutive days of heavy rain, with more on the way ahead of Wednesday's ceremony, forcing organisers to change their plans.

"Due to expected bad weather conditions... the torch-lighting ceremony for the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics will be moved to the interior of the Olympic mus

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