The Olympic flame arrived in Cortina d’Ampezzo, one of the two official host cities, a week and a half before the start of the Winter Olympics. Exactly 70 years to the day after the start of the first Winter Games in Cortina, the torch arrived again. The 6,000-strong community in the Italian Alps had already hosted the games in 1956. This year the location is shared with Milan Host.

The torch is expected in Milan on February 5th, a day before the official start of this year’s Winter Games. The fire has been going on since November. After starting in the ancient site of Olympia on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, the torch first went through Greece and then through December Italy.

In 1956, around 820 athletes took part in the first games in Italy. This year there will be more than 3,500. The games run until February 22nd. Competitions take place not only in Milan and Cortina, but also in several other places in northern Italy.