The Olympic Flame is in Rome: President Mattarella lights the brazier

At 11.18 the Olympic Flame arrives in the hands of the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella who, alongside the number one of the Milano Cortina Foundation Giovanni Malagò, lights the brazier in Piazza del Quirinale, amidst the applause of hundreds of people and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who did not want to miss such an important appointment for the country. The Frecce Tricolori cross the sky, a new step forward towards the Milan Cortina Games, starting on 6 February, has been taken.

MATTARELLA

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President Mattarella recalled that “the lighting of the flame is not just a sporting event but is something with a high symbolic value, which recalls universal principles and values. It reminds that women and men can aspire to ever higher goals and that common progress requires solidarity, brotherhood, without any desire for abuse. Today more than ever we feel the need for friendship and peace between peoples, we hope that the Olympic truce requested by Italy will be renewed and indeed that the next two months bring détente and dialogue”.

COVENTRY

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The president of the IOC Kirsty Coventry was the first to speak and after thanking all the authorities present she said excitedly: “Today seeing the flame arrive here I felt the same emotions I experienced in Athens, but this time immersed in the Italian spirit. Passion emerges in everything you do, Bella Italia (in Italian, ed.). Your creativity, joy and passion for life, your excellence will exalt the dreams of those who still believe in the power of sport. The flame represents the Olympic Spirit and as such it connects generations and peoples all over the world, without discrimination. Here in Italy innovation and tradition go hand in hand and enhance the beauty of this country, which will inspire the world”.

INSTITUTIONS

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The ceremony saw the participation of various institutional and sporting personalities: from the Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi to that of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, from the mayors of Milan and Cortina, Giuseppe Sala and Gianluca Lorenzi (but also that of Verona Damiano Tommasi), to the presidents of Coni and Cip, Luciano Buonfiglio and Marco Giunio De Sanctis, the presidents of the Chamber and Senate Lorenzo Fontana and Ignazio La Russa.