The torch relay starts in Italy two months before the Winter Olympics. The police apparently prevented a confrontation with pro-Palestinian demonstrators during the first stage. Two groups are removed.
Two groups of pro-Palestinian demonstrators were prevented by the authorities from intervening in the torch relay ahead of the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina (February 6-22, 2026). The Italian police announced this on Saturday. The demonstrators apparently wanted to disrupt the event.
Both groups – one of them about 15 people in size – were removed before they reached the route in Rome, police said. A third group of about 10 people waved Palestinian flags as the torch relay passed the city’s largest university, La Sapienza. This group was observed by the police.
In October, more than two million people marched through over 100 Italian cities to protest against the war in Gaza.
Torch relay through all Italian provinces
Olympic swimming champion Gregorio Paltrinieri started the torch relay at Rome’s statue-lined Stadio dei Marmi. Paltrinieri won gold in the 1500 meter freestyle in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The torch was carried 33 kilometers in the first stage on Saturday before arriving at Piazza del Popolo, one of the most visited squares in Rome.
The torch will travel a total of 12,000 kilometers through all 110 Italian provinces before arriving at Milan’s San Siro Stadium on February 6 for the opening ceremony. There will be a total of 10,001 torchbearers. The next stops of the torch relay are Viterbo on Sunday and Terni on Monday, two cities north of Rome.
luwi/AP
