For the first time in the history of the modern Olympic
Games, the Olympic flame was lit by fire coming directly
from the sanctuary of the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia.
After covering a distance of 3.422 kilometers through
Greece, Bulgaria, Jugoslavia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia
and Germany (the torch passed through the capital city
of each country), the torch reached the Olympic altar
in Berlin on 1 August . The torch itself, designed by
the sculptor Lemcke, was in polished steel. On the handle,
the inscription
“Fackelstaffel-Lauf Olympia-Berlin 1936”
with Olympic rings and the German eagle superimposed.
On the bottom part, the line of the flame’s route
from Olympia to Berlin. On the platform, the inscription
“Organisazions-Komitee fur die XI. Olympiade Berlin
1926. Als Dank dem Trager”.
1948
London
There
were three types of torches used during the relay
: a standard torch, a torch with a gas recipient
for the sea crossing and a torch for the last runner
(left). The torch carried the inscription "XIV
OLYMPIAD LONDON 1948" and was in stainless
steel. It was created for the last leg of the race,
the entrance to the stadium. The flame was in magnesium
so it would burn brightly and be seen beyond the
stadium even in bright sunshine. The sacred flame
traveled 3.365 kilometers, passing through eight
European countries. It was carried by 1.416 runners
before reaching the altar in Wembley Stadium on
29 July.
1952
Helsinki
The
Finns organizing the Games asked that the Flame
should not pass across the territory of the Eastern
bloc since the consequences of the Second World
War had not yet been surmounted. The Flame for
the 1952 Olympics therefore traveled by air for
the first time, from Athens to Helsinki via Copenhagen.
It reached the stadium in the Finnish capital on
19 July 1952. The second to last relay runner was
the famous Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi, then 55
years old, who handed it over to the equally celebrated
Finnish runner and Olympic medalist Hans Kohlemainen,
then 62, who lit the altar with the Flame. The
torch had a conical shape with on the bottom part
of the burner the inscription "XV Olympia
Helsinki 1952"
and on the rings underneath "Helsinki Helsingfors".
As a decoration, in the middle of the surface of
the burner, there was a laurel crown on one side
and on the other the Olympic rings. The handle was
in lacquered wood.
1956
Melbourne/Stockholm
The
Flame made two journeys to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
The Australians refused to accept the horses for
the equestrian events due to disease transmission
concerns. The IOC was thus forced to assign the
equestrian events to Stockholm. The Flame traveled
not only to Australia but to Sweden as well. It
reached Melbourne after covering 20.470 kilometers
and being carried by 3.118 runners, the last of
whom was the famous runner Ron Clark. To reach
Stockholm, the Flame went by air from Athens to
Malmo and Thence, with an escort of 150 horsemen
from sixteen Swedish Riding Clubs, to the stadium
in Stockholm. The torch was designed with reference
to the model of torch of the 1948 London Games.
On the base of the chalice-shaped top part, the
Olympic rings and inscription "XVI Olympiad
Melbourne 1956". The torch for the equestrian
competitions in Stockholm from the same year had
a similar form.
1960
Rome
The
ancient monuments of Greece and Italy were the
backbone for the Olympic Flame route of the 1960
Rome Olympic Games. Its journey began at Piraeus,
the port of Athens, on the Amerigo Vespucci boat
which carried it to Syracuse. From there, it was
carried to Rome via various Italian towns. 1.529
athletes took part in the Torch Relay, covering
2.750 kilometers, the last relay runner being Giancarlo
Peri, who carried it to the altar of the Olympic
Stadium in Rome. The torch was intentionally based
on a classic model, inspired by the torches reproduced
on ancient monuments. The base bears the inscription: "Giocchi
della XVII Olympiade".
1964
Tokyo
For
the Torch Relay of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games,
the Flame's journey began in Olympia on 21 August
. It was carried from Athens to Constantinople
by air. From there it went by road through Beirut,
Tehran, Lahore, New Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur,
Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei and finally Okinawa which
was chosen as the gateway for Japan. The Flame
was lit at the altar in the Tokyo Stadium on 10
October by a young student, Yosinori Sakai. The
Flame covered a total of 26.065 kilometers traveling
by air, on land, and by sea. 100.603 runners, an
Olympic record, carried the flame. It was made
of a cylindrical tube covered in stainless steel
and filed with gunpowder and smoke. The support
was designed to go with the torch and was specially
made in aluminum to limit its weight. It carries
the inscription "XVIII Olympiad Tokyo 1964",
alongside the Olympic rings.
1968
Mexico
The Olympic Flame for the 1968 Mexico Olympics followed
the course of the great explorer, Christopher Columbus.
From Olympia it was carried to Genoa, Columbus' birthplace,
before reaching Barcelona, the city that gave him a hero's
welcome when he returned having discovered America. The
Flame then voyaged to Mexico on the frigate Princesa
Sofia, which followed the same course as had Columbus'
ship, the Santa Maria. The voyage of the Flame lasted
21 days. The Flame was lit on the altar of Mexico City's
Olympic Stadium, for the first time by a woman, Enriqueta
Basilio. Its design recaptures the “Mexico 68” logo,
featured on the emblem as well as on the posters. It
is cone-shaped, grooved and carved and bears the inscription “MEXICO
68” on the top at the side where the flame comes
out.
1972
Munich
Six
countries welcomed the Olympic Flame for the 1972
Munich Olympics. From Olympia it went to Turkey and
then to Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary and
Austria. The voyage lasted 29 days, with 5.532 kilometers
covered by 6.000 torch runners, including motorcyclists.
The altar at the Munich Olympic Stadium was lit by
track and field athlete Gunther Zahn.
"Spiele der XX Olympiade Munchen 1972"
on the combustion tube. On the handle, the Olympic
rings and the emblem of the Games, representing a crown
of rays of light.
1976
Montreal
The journey of the Olympic Flame to the 1976 Olympics
was marked by a major innovation: it was carried for
the first time by a laser beamed via a satellite, from
Athens to Ottawa. During the relay in Canada, 1.214 runners
were used. For the very first time, the flame was lit
by a young couple of athletes: the 16-year old Stephane
Prefontaine and the 15-year old Sandra Henderson. The
graphics and design management team of the Organizing
Committee for these Games opted for a functional design
and a lightweight material, aluminum, thinking that each
runner had to run one kilometer holding the torch. The
colour black was chosen with the aim of making the flame
more visible on the photographs.
1980
Moscow
At
the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the Flame covered 4.915
kilometers, through Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and
the then Soviet Union. 5.000 runners took part,
the last one being the Russian basketball legend
Sergei Belov. On the handle of the torch there
was the caption: "Moskva Olimpiada 1980" (Moscow
Olympiad 1980). On the platform, the emblem of
the Games.
1984
Los Angeles
The
American organizers auctioned every kilometer of
the Torch Relay on American soil for 3.000 dollars.
The idea did not meet with the approval of the
Hellenic Olympic Committee which informed the American
organizers that it would not deliver the Olympic
Flame. Though the Flame did eventually travel to
New York, no Torch Relay took place on Greek soil,
nor was there the Handing Over of the Flame ceremony.
The Americans collected 11 million dollars as a
result of this sponsorship. The flame was lit at
the altar by Rafer Johnson, winner of the Decathlon
at the 1960 Rome Olympics. The leather handle features
a metallic ring and the caption "Games of
the XXIII Olympiad Los Angeles 1984"
with the Olympic motto "Citius Altius Fortius" and
the picture of the Memorial Coliseum.
1988
Seoul
The
South Koreans worked for more than two years on
the Torch Relay of the Seoul 1988 Olympics with
a staff of 156 people. The Flame was carried by
plane from Athens to Cheju Island to cover 15.250
kilometers in 26 days with no less than 20.899
runners taking part. At the top of the handle there
was "Games of the XXIVth Olympiad Seoul 1988" and
the emblem together with a Korean drawing. The
handle was in leather.
1992
Barcelona
The
Olympic Flame was carried aboard the Spanish frigate
Catalunya to the port of Empuries, an old Greek
colony. It reached Barcelona after traveling for
51 days over a distance of 6.307 kilometers, with
10.448 runners taking part. The Flame was lit at
the Olympic Stadium of Montjuic by Antonio Rebollo,
a Paralympics archer, who shot his flaming arrow
at the altar. "XXV Olimpiada Barcelona 1992" on
the handle with the Games emblem. The torch was
created by the Barcelona industrial designer Andre
Ricard.
1996
Atlanta
The
Torch-lighting ceremony at Ancient Olympia for the
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games was attended by Hillary
Clinton, spouse of the then US President Bill Clinton.
The Torch Relay lasted 170 days. The last runner
was the boxing legend, Mohamed Ali. The torch was
inspired by the simplest ancient torches - a cluster
of reeds bound by twine - and also reflected the
lines of classical Greek architecture. It featured
22 aluminum "reeds" (one for each Olympic
Games). On the first gold plated brass ring is the
inscription
"Atlanta 1996" with the Games emblem. On
the second ring are the names of the host cities of
the Olympic Games of the modern era. The torch was
the tallest ever for a summer Olympic Games and the
only one designed to be grasped in the middle.
2000
Sydney
The Olympic Flame for the 2000 Sydney Games traveled
via various Greek cities for a whole ten days. The Flame
then covered a distance of 27.000 kilometers, reached
the sacred district of the Uluru aborigines in Australia,
while ships and even frogmen were used to carry it. The
transit lasted a total of 127 days. The final runner,
who lit the altar with the Flame, the aborigine Kathy
Freeman, was also the winner of the gold medal in the
Sydney Olympics 400 meters. The architecture of the Sydney
Opera House, the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and
the subtle curve of the boomerang inspired the design
of the torch. The torch includes three layers which are
representative of earth, fire and water.
2004
Athens
The 2004 Olympic Games marked the return of the Games
to the country of their birth and to the city of their
modern revival. To celebrate history of the Games,, the
Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay united all five continents.
The Olympic Flame began its journey at Olympia and, having
traveled across the globe, returned to the Athens Olympic
Stadium on 13 August 2004, where it signaled the beginning
of the 2004 Olympic Games. The journey lasted 78 days.
Outside Greece the flame traveled for 35 days covering
a distance of approximately 78.000 km, 1.500 of which
in the hands of 3.600 torchbearers. A total of 260 million
people had the opportunity to see the flame in their
city. For the first time in history the Olympic Torch
Relay brought the flame to Africa and Latin America.
The flame passed through all Olympic cities. It also
passed through cities with special symbolic meaning such
as Brussels, heart of the European Union, Lausanne, seat
of the International Olympic committee, and Beijing,
host city of the next Olympiad. The Athens 2004 Olympic
Torch Relay embraced all cultures and the five continents
symbolized by the five Olympic rings.
An olive leaf served as the inspiration for the first
Olympic torch that traveled to all five continents, carrying
the message of peace for the Olympic Games of 2004. Its
form was drawn from the leaf’s lines and its harmonious
shape. The torch's design was selected to enhance the
flame with its upward dynamic shape. Its ergonomic curved
design establishes the torch as the continuation of the
flame, which does not only come from the torch, but rises
as a continuation of the torchbearer's hand. Weighing
700gr. and standing at 68cm, it is made of metal (magnesium)
and wood (olive tree) in their natural colors.
2008 Beijing
The Beijing Olympic Torch boasts strong Chinese characteristics,
and showcases Chinese design and technical capabilities.
It embodies the concepts of a Green Olympics, a High-tech
Olympics and the People's Olympics.
The torch is 72 centimeters high, weighs 985 grams
and is made of aluminum. The torch is of a curved surface
form, with etching and anodizing being used during
its production. A torch can usually keep burning for
approximately 15 minutes in conditions where the flame
is 25 to 30 centimeters high in a windless environment.
The torch has been produced to withstand winds of up
to 65 kilometers per hour and to stay alight in rain
up to 50mm an hour. The flame can be identified and
photographed in sunshine and areas of extreme brightness.
The fuel is propane which is in accordance with environmental
guidelines. The material of its form is recyclable.
The shape of the paper scroll and the
lucky clouds graphic, expresses the idea of harmony.
Its stable burning technique and adaptability to the
environment have reached a new technical level. The
torch of the Beijing Olympic Games is designed, researched
and produced in China. BOCOG owns all intellectual
property rights.
Under the concept of a Green Olympics, environmental
protection was a key element listed in the invitation
documents to the design companies, by BOCOG. The fuel
of the torch is propane, which is a common fuel which
also comes with a low price. It is composed of carbon
and hydrogen. No material, except carbon dioxide and
water remain after the burning, eliminating any risk
of pollution.
2005 August BOCOG developed the design concepts and
requirements of the torch.
2005 December BOCOG recruited potential torch designs
from the design society. In total, BOCOG received 388
pieces of works.
2006 June-August BOCOG selected the structural designer
and the burning system designer.
2007 January Beijing Olympic Torch was approved by
IOC.
