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when do they light the olympic torch

They light the Olympic torch flame twice in the lead‑up to and start of each Games:

  1. Lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece
    • The flame is first lit in a special ceremony at the ancient site of Olympia, Greece, usually a few months before the Games begin (for example, November 2025 for the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Winter Games).
 * An actress playing a high priestess uses a parabolic mirror and the sun’s rays to ignite the flame, continuing a tradition in place since the 1936 Games.

 * From there, the flame starts the **Olympic Torch Relay** , traveling through parts of Greece, then to the host country and many of its cities before the Games.
  1. Lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony
    • The famous “torch lighting” most people think of happens at the Opening Ceremony in the host city , where the last torchbearer uses the relay torch to light the big Olympic cauldron, officially marking the start of the Games.
 * This moment typically comes **toward the end** of the Opening Ceremony, after the athletes’ parade and speeches, often about **2–3 hours after the ceremony begins** , depending on the specific year’s schedule.

Quick Scoop: Key points

  • The phrase “when do they light the Olympic torch” can mean:
    • When the flame is first lit in Olympia (months before).
    • When the stadium cauldron is lit at the Opening Ceremony (end of the show).
  • For the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano‑Cortina , the flame is scheduled to be lit in Olympia on 26 November 2025 , then carried via relay until the Games.
  • For each specific Olympics, the exact local time of cauldron lighting is set in the Opening Ceremony timetable and published by organizers and broadcasters.

Forum / trending angle

On forums and Q&A sites, people often ask “what time do they light the torch?” when they really mean “what time, in my time zone, will the cauldron be lit during the Opening Ceremony?” Schedules are usually shared by:

  • The official Olympics website and app (with local time and sometimes time‑zone conversion).
  • Major broadcasters’ schedules (e.g., NBC, BBC, etc.), which often list the ceremony start and the approximate torch‑lighting window.

A typical pattern for recent Games has been:

  • Opening Ceremony starts in the evening local time.
  • Torch/cauldron lighting happens near the end , often roughly two to three hours after the start , but this can shift depending on the show design.

If you want the time for a specific Games

To find the exact time for a particular Olympics, you’d usually:

  1. Check the official Games site for the Opening Ceremony schedule and cauldron lighting window.
  1. Check your local broadcaster’s listings (they often give a specific clock time range for the torch moment).
  1. Adjust for your time zone if the listed schedule is given in local time at the host city.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.