France Takes Olympic Torch for 2030 Winter Games

The 2026 Winter Olympics closed Sunday night in one of Italy's most stunning venues, the ancient Verona Arena, where 1,500 athletes gathered to celebrate and pass the Olympic flag to France.

The closing ceremony turned the historic stone amphitheater into a joyful tribute to Italian music and opera. Athletes waved their national flags while the crowd sang along to classic Italian pop hits, their seats marked by green, red, and white lights forming the Italian flag.

The event opened with a creative twist on Italy's opera heritage. Performers dressed as famous opera characters like Madama Butterfly in bright pink and green emerged from mirrored crates hidden in the amphitheater's ancient tunnels. The characters, led by the jester Rigoletto, even spilled into the piazza outside where bemused flag-bearing athletes pulled out their phones to capture the moment.

Norway dominated the Games, winning 18 gold medals and 41 overall. France claimed 23 medals total, building excitement for their role as the next host nation.

In the ceremony's highlight moment, Italy officially handed the Olympic flag to France. The French flag rose alongside Italy's and Greece's as the Mediterranean nation prepares to host the 2030 Winter Games across the French Alps and Nice.

The Ripple Effect

These Games made history as the most geographically spread-out Winter Olympics ever, spanning 22,000 square kilometers from Milan to the Austrian and Swiss borders. Rather than building expensive new facilities, organizers used existing venues across eight cities, creating a sustainable model for future Games.

The approach worked beautifully. Ice sports in Milan, biathlon near Austria, snowboarding and downhill skiing near Switzerland, and curling in Cortina d'Ampezzo all came together seamlessly. This practical solution shows how major sporting events can celebrate athleticism while respecting budgets and the environment.

The 2030 French Alps Games will follow this model, staging events from the Alps to the Mediterranean. Even speedskating will use an existing venue abroad rather than constructing new infrastructure.

The ceremony concluded with Olympic flames being extinguished at cauldrons in both Milan and Cortina, shown via video link. A light show replaced traditional fireworks to protect local animals from disturbance.

The Milan Cortina Paralympics opens March 6, also in the Verona Arena, continuing Italy's winter sports celebration through March 15.