VIDEO SHOWS: VARIOUS OF FLAME DRESS REHEARSAL CEREMONY AT ANCIENT OLYMPIA RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: ANCIENT OLYMPIA, GREECE (NOVEMBER 24, 2024) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. VARIOUS OF THE TEMPLE OF HERA 2. TWO MEN CARRYING THE PARABOLIC MIRROR TRADITIONALLY USED TO IGNITE THE OLYMPIC FLAME 3. MAN AND CHILD SITTING ON A BENCH AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF ANCIENT OLYMPIA 4. VARIOUS OF ACTRESSES PLAYING THE ROLE OF PRIESTESSES ARRIVING AT THE REHEARSAL 5. FAMILY WITH STROLLER WALKING IN ANCIENT OLYMPIA 6. VARIOUS OF PRIESTESSES RECEIVING THE LAST TOUCHES OF MAKEUP BEFORE THE REHEARSAL 7. PARABOLIC MIRROR AND UNLIT TORCH ON THE GROUND 8. VARIOUS OF OLYMPIC FLAME LIGHTING CEREMONY CHOREOGRAPHER ARTEMIS IGNATIOU BEATING A DRUM AND WALKING IN FRONT OF THE TEMPLE OF HERA 9, VARIOUS OF PRIESTESSES WALKING THROUGH THE TEMPLE AND TAKING THEIR PLACES IN FRONT OF IT 10. VARIOUS OF PRIESTESSES DANCING 11. VARIOUS OF PRIESTESSES WALKING WITH AN URN AS OTHER DANCE TO THE BEATING OF THE DRUM 12. PRIESTESS LEAVING URN ON THE GROUND 13. ACTOR MARY MINA, PERFORMING AS HIGH PRIESTESS, ADDRESSING AN ENCANTATION TO THE ANCIENT GREEK GOD APOLLO, SAYING (Greek): ‘APOLLO, GOD OF THE SUN AND THE IDEA OF LIGHT, SEND YOUR RAYS AND LIGHT THE SACRED TORCH FOR THE HOSPITABLE CITIES OF MILAN AND CORTINA. AND YOU, ZEUS, GRANT PEACE TO ALL THE NATIONS ON EARTH AND PUT A WREATH ON (THE HEADS OF) THE WINNERS OF THE SACRED GAMES" 14. MINA KNEELING AND TENDING THE TORCH TO THE MIRROR WITHOUT LIGHTING IT, THEN HOLDING TORCH IN THE AIR AND PRETENDING TO LIGHT THE URN WITH IT 15. PRIESTESSES WALKING WITH URN AND TORCH 16. SPECTATORS SITTING ON THE GRASS, WATCHING 17. VARIOUS OF PRIESTESSES DANCING DOWN THE SLOPE OF THE ANCIENT STADIUM 18. MINA WALKING DOWN THE SLOPE CARRYING THE URN BEFORE PLACING IT ON A MANTLE 19. GREEK, OLYMPIC AND ITALIAN FLAGS MOUNTED ON MASTS STORY: The torch-lighting dress rehearsals for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics were successfully held on Monday (November 24) in Greece’s Ancient Olympia ahead of the official ceremony later this week. The actual ceremony, on Wednesday (November 26) will be relocated from the ancient stadium to an indoor hall at a nearby museum due to bad weather. Organisers will use a backup flame, which was lit away from view of the media during one of the many rehearsals, to light the flame on the day. 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. "Apollo, god of the sun and the idea of light, send your rays and light the sacred torch for the hospitable cities of Milan and Cortina. And you, Zeus, grant peace to all the nations on earth and put a wreath on (the heads of) the winners of the sacred games," said high priestess Mary Mina in a prayer to Apollo, the ancient Greek god of the sun. Following Wednesday's ceremony and after a week-long Greek relay, the flame will be handed over to Milano Games organisers in Athens on December 4 and flown to Italy for the domestic torch relay stretching more than 12,000km across the country. It will pass through Rome and Venice before reaching Cortina on January 26 for the opening ceremony at Milan's San Siro stadium -- exactly 70 years after the opening ceremony of the 1956 Games in Cortina. The Italian relay will take in famous landmarks including the Colosseum in Rome and the Grand Canal in Venice, with stops in southern cities such as Palermo and Naples to spark excitement in areas where winter sports are not as prominent. The journey will conclude in Milan, entering the San Siro stadium on the evening of February 6. (Production: Stamos Prousalis, Valentini Anagnostopoulou) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
