Klavdia sings “Asteromata” as the Olympic Flame leaves Athens for its winter throne in Milan

It was barely midday when the Olympic Flame crossed the marble threshold of the Panathenaic Stadium and officially passed from Greece to Italy. No fireworks, no overproduced choir, no stage glitter. Just the essential ritual, the echo of history and one voice: Klavdia’s, live, stripped of artifice, singing “Asteromata”, the song that carried Greece through Eurovision 2025.

The handover ceremony unfolded on Thursday morning under heavy skies and even heavier forecasts. With storms threatening to crash the party, the Greek Olympic Committee cancelled any artistic padding. The only performance that remained was Klavdia — and thankfully, she didn’t need backup dancers to make the moment land.

World wrestling champion Giorgos Kougioumtzidis brought the Flame into the stadium before passing it to Italian tennis gold medallist Jasmine Paolini, then to cycling titan Filippo Ganna, who continued the relay on behalf of Italy, host of the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. In the end, water polo world champion Eleni Xenaki lit the cauldron, closing a ceremony that was dignified, concise and refreshingly free of Olympic overproduction.

If Klavdia stole the spotlight with her calm, luminous delivery, she didn’t stand alone. 250 students from the Italian School of Athens helped seal the moment, forming a living bridge between the country that hands the Flame and the one that will soon welcome it.

This wasn’t a spectacle — it was a passing of responsibility. And Klavdia, voice steady under marble arches and grey skies, gave it exactly the tone it deserved.

Source: Ethnos