The new year opens for Rimini in the name of sport and its most authentic values. On Monday, January 5, the city will host the passage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Flame, one of the stages of the relay which, from December 4, will cross Italy accompanying the countdown towards the opening of the Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for February 6.
An event of great symbolic and participatory value, created thanks to the collaboration between the Municipality of Rimini and the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, which will involve the entire city in a path capable of ideally uniting the sea and the historic center, sport and community, past and future.
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The path of the Flame: from the sea to the centre
The Olympic Flame will leave at 5.08 pm from Viale Regina Margherita (height of Bagno 138), crossing the Rimini seafront and then entering the historic centre. The convoy made up of approximately 200 meters of vehicles will travel along some of the most significant streets of the city: viale Regina Elena, viale Amerigo Vespucci, Lungomare Claudio Tintori, via Destra del Porto, to then cross the Tiberius Bridge and continue along Corso d’Augusto up to Piazza Malatesta, where the lighting of the Olympic brazier is scheduled for 7.30pm.
In the final stretch, along Corso d’Augusto, the Flame will be carried by Mirco Acquarelli together with Riviera Basket Rimini, a sporting reality symbol of inclusion and participation, involved in the wheelchair basketball championship. At Piazza Tre Martiri, Acquarelli will pass the torch to Nicole Piomboni, the young spiker from Rimini born in 2005, originally from Viserba, who will light the Olympic brazier in Piazza Malatesta at 7.30 pm. Nicole, who currently plays for Helvia Volley Macerata in Serie A1, won the gold medal at the Under 21 Volleyball World Championships in Indonesia in August 2025, establishing herself as one of the brightest promises of Italian volleyball. Her career, which began in Viserba Volleyball, saw her as a protagonist with several call-ups to the youth national team and with performances of the highest level.
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The City Celebration and the village in Piazza Malatesta
To accompany the arrival of the Flame, Piazza Malatesta will host the City Celebration, with a village animated by contents, stories and institutional moments, designed to involve the sporting world, citizens, families and enthusiasts.
The afternoon program includes:
5-5.30 pm: the Master of Ceremony will retrace the Journey of the Olympic Flame through Italy, sharing the most exciting moments of the journey.
5.30pm-6pm: moment dedicated to the city of Rimini, with institutional greetings from the Sports Councilor, Michele Lari, and the Regional Sports Councilor, Roberta Frisoni. Following, a particularly significant moment entrusted to Maurizio Stecca, Olympic legend from Rimini and Olympic gold medalist in boxing at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, who will celebrate the Olympic spirit by sharing his experience and testimony on the values of commitment, sacrifice and passion that animate the Olympic movement. Representatives of youth basketball will also be involved in the moment dedicated to the city.
6-7 pm: involvement of the partners of the Journey of the Olympic Flame.
7pm: live broadcast of the arrival of the last torchbearer in the square.
7.30 pm: lighting of the Olympic brazier by Nicole Piomboni.
“The passing of the Olympic Flame is much more than a sporting event – underlines the councilor for Sport, Michele Lari – it is a moment of great collective participation that unites the city around sport as a universal language in a city like Rimini that is open and free, like sport. We wanted this stage to describe Rimini in its most authentic identity, valorising its athletes, its sporting excellence and the ability to welcome and share emotions. Nicole Piomboni and Riviera Basket Rimini are authentic symbols of values Olympics, the presence of Maurizio Stecca, Olympic gold medalist when he was just 21 years old and the pride of our city, will make this moment even more significant. It will be a unique opportunity for our community to live the Olympic dream together, united by the universal values of sport: commitment, passion, inclusion and team spirit”.
