The official torches for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics were recently revealed!
Crafted from recycled aluminium, the torches come in two distinct designs and colours–a blue version for the Olympics and a bronze one for the Paralympics.
In a social media post by Milano Cortina 2026, it read: “Essential IT’s Design 🔥 The torches of #MilanoCortina2026 are a tribute to Italian design — with a style that puts the Flame at the centre. Elegant. Iconic. Sustainable. They’re called “Essential”, and they carry the spirit of the Games to come.”
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Platform users expressed their opinions about it, most of them commenting that the design is “really beautiful.” They also congratulated the team that worked to develop what they called “Italian excellence.”
Another user also wrote, “First of its kind❤️❤️ Original MADE IN 🇮🇹!!!”
About the torches
The official torches for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, named “Essential”, were created by Carlo Ratti Associati, in partnership with Eni and its subsidiary Versalis.
The “Essential” torches embrace a minimalist design that highlights the flame as its focal point. Furthermore, the design is a combination of Italian craftsmanship and precise engineering techniques, which resulted in torches that are not only symbolic but functional as well.
The torches’ open structure, a rare feature design, allows people to witness the flame’s creation and observe the mechanisms that were usually hidden. More so, the two versions have the same design but differ in colour, each representing the bond between humanity, nature, sports, and the future.
The Olympic torch (Shades of Sky) represents the skies and landscapes of Italy with its blue-green gradient colour. It also embodies movement, hope, and transformation.
The Paralympic torch (Mountains of Light) embraces the strength, resilience, and transformative spirit of the Paralympic athletes with its bronze shade.
Both torches are coated with a reflective, iridescent finish using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) technology, producing a dynamic visual effect that changes with varying light conditions.
The “Essential” torches will be displayed at the Italian Pavilion during Expo 2025 in Osaka and at the Triennale di Milano from May 2025 until the end of the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. After the Olympics, the Olympic torch will become part of the permanent collection at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, helping to preserve the design history of the Games.
Athletes Stefania Belmondo, a former cross-country skiing champion, and Paralympic fencing star Bebe Vio, both two-time Olympic gold medallists, brought the torches into a theatre in Milan as part of the unveiling event. Belmondo stated, “It’s very easy to carry and handle.”
Furthermore, Giovanni Malago, Italy’s National Olympic Committee president, expressed, “The torch is spectacular, beautiful, the embodiment of Italian design genius.”
The torch will be lit at the ancient Olympia in Greece on November 26, the historic birthplace of the Olympic Games, to officially start the countdown to the 2026 Milano Cortina. The torch will arrive in Rome early in December to begin its journey across Italy before reaching Milan to officially light the cauldron at the opening ceremony.