With the start of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics just around the corner, the design for the Olympic cauldrons set to be lit by the Olympic flame have been revealed. 

Two cauldrons will be lit and extinguished at the same time in two different cities, one in Milan and another in Cortina d’Ampezzo, for the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Both cauldrons were created in partnership with Fincantieri, the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics sponsor, and designed by creative director and Olympic Ceremonies producer Marco Balich. One cauldron will be staged at the Arco della Pace in Milan, while the second will light up Piazza Dibona in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The lighting of dual cauldrons will be emblematic of the continuous harmony and widespread territories between the two host cities, organizers confirmed. 

The cauldrons' designs stem from Leonardo da Vinci's knots, the iconic interwoven patterns of lines appearing in several of his artworks, engravings, and writings, as a tribute to the artist's legacy in Milan. A Tuscan native, da Vinci landed in Milan in the 1480s, where he painted the infamous The Last Supper in the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent.

The cauldrons are made from aeronautical aluminum, a strong yet lightweight material that assist the cauldrons' opening and closing movements. At the cauldrons' core, the flame will reside in a sustainable glass-and-metal container designed to showcase the historic importance of safeguarding the Olympic flame. The expansion and contraction of the mechanical systems enclosing the flame symbolize the continuity of time and the natural shift from day to night while the geometric entwinement design of the cauldrons themselves represents the shared connection between nature and human ingenuity.

The cauldrons will be lit during the Opening Ceremony on February 6, marking the conclusion of the Olympic torch's journey across Italy. Over the course of 63 days, prominent Italian athletes, artists, and figures carried the Olympic flame through 60 cities and all 110 Italian provinces. The flame simultaneously will be extinguished in both cauldrons during the Closing Ceremony on February 22 to make way for the arrival of the Paralympic flame, which will be lit during the Paralympic Opening Ceremony on March 6 before being permanently extinguished on March 15 at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games.