The Olympic Torch and Flame

According to ancient tradition, the Olympic flame will be lit at a ceremony in the Greek city of Olympia on 21 April (22 April NZT) and will complete a short relay of Greece before being passed over to Rio 2016. With the announcement of the full Brazilian route, another 246 towns and cities have been confirmed alongside the 83 revealed when the torch was unveiled last July.

20 Olympic Torch and Flame facts

• The Olympic flame was first introduced at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam
• The ancient Greeks believed that fire was given to humankind by Prometheus, fire was believed to have sacred qualities.
• Mirrors were used to focus the sun's rays to ignite flames that would burn perpetually in front of Greek temples.
• Today the flame is lit in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera in Olympia Greece. The choice of Olympia as a departure point emphasises the link between the Ancient and Modern Games
• In the context of the modern Games, the Olympic flame represents the positive values that Man has always associated with fire.
• The flame is carried by relay all the way to its final destination in the stadium.
• Being a torch-bearer is considered an honour, one given to local residents with a record of community service, in addition to athletes and celebrities
• Although it is usually carried by runners on foot, other modes of transport are also used
• The Relay’s function is twofold: to herald the Olympic Games and to transmit a message of peace and friendship to the people along its route.
• The first such relay took place for the 1936 Berlin Games.
• For each edition of the Games, a new model of torch is created
• During the relay, the flame must never go out. The torches generally burn a gas fuel, and are specially designed to resist the effects of wind and rain.
• The torches are very often created by world-famous firms or designers
• The highlight of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics is the entrance of the Olympic flame into the stadium. The final torchbearer often does a lap of the stadium before lighting the monumental cauldron with the Olympic flame.
• A symbolic release of doves evokes the climate of peace in which the Olympic Games should take place.
• The flame remains lit for the duration of the Games and is only extinguished at the closing ceremony.
• The Rio 2016 torch represents harmonious diversity; contagious energy and exuberant nature.
• The Rio torch will be carried by approximately 12,000 torchbearers during the relay.
• The relay will begin on 3 May in Brasília and visit 329 towns and cities around Brazil during the 95-day event leading up to the Opening Ceremony.
• Roughly 200m will be covered by each torchbearer during the Rio Torch Relay before passing to the next person.