The origin of the Olympic Flame dates back to ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks considered fire divine and lit a flame at Olympia where the ancient Olympic Games took place. The flame used to burn throughout the celebrations.
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The first Olympic Torch Relay occurred at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
2016 Summer Olympics
After completing its Greek phase, which is from Olympia to Athens, the torch relay will head to Brazil where the process would kick-start on May 3, 2016. But before reaching Brazil, the torch relay would also visit Switzerland and Colombia. The Brazilian phase will start from the capital city Brasilia and would finally culminate in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, the torch relay would visit more than 300 cities, including all the state capitals and the Federal District.
WBPB
Venue | Year | Lighting of the Olympic Cauldron by |
Berlin | 1936 | Fritz Schilgen [Athletics] |
London | 1948 | John Mark [Athletics] |
Helsinki | 1952 | Hannes Kolehmainen [Athletics] |
Melbourne | 1956 | Ron Clarke [Athletics] |
Rome | 1960 | Giancarlo Peris [Athletics] |
Tokyo | 1964 | Yoshinori Sakai, student born on 6 Aug 1945, the day Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. |
Mexico City | 1968 | Norma Enriqueta Basilio de Sotelo [Athletics] |
Munich | 1972 | Gunter Zahn [Athletics] |
Montreal | 1976 | Sandra Henderson & Stephane Prefontaine, two young athletes aged 15 and 16 years. |
Moscow | 1980 | Sergei Belov [Basketball] |
Los Angeles | 1984 | Rafer Johnson [Decathlon] |
Seoul | 1988 | Chong Son-Man, Kim Won-Tak, Sohn Mi-Chong [Athletics] |
Barcelona | 1992 | Antonio Rebello [Paralympic Archery] |
Atlanta | 1996 | Mohammad Ali [Boxing] |
Sydney | 2000 | Cathy Freeman [Athletics] |
Athens | 2004 | Nikolaos Kaklamanakis [Sailing] |
Beijing | 2008 | Li Ning [Artistic Gymnastics] |
London | 2012 | Callum Airlie (sailing), Jordan Duckitt, Desiree Henry (sprinter), Katie Kirk (athlete), Cameron MacRitchie (rowing), Aidan Reynolds (Javelin) and Adelle Tracey (athlete) |