The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic torch relay, which formally ends with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The flame then continues to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it is extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony.
The 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay took the Olympic Flame across every habitable continent, returning to Athens, Greece. Every city which had hosted, will host, or coincidentally elected to host the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics and the Youth Olympics was revisited by the torch, as well as several other cities chosen for their international importance. The main reason why the torch relay went around the world was to highlight the fact that the Olympic Games were started in Greece and in modern times have been held around the world and then took place in Greece in 2004.
The 2002 Asian Games, also known as the XIV Asian Games, were an international multi-sport event held in Busan, South Korea from September 29 to October 14, 2002, with the football event commenced 2 days before the opening ceremony.
The 2006 Asian Games, officially known as the XV Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event held in Doha, Qatar from December 1 to 15, 2006, with 424 events in 39 sports featured in the games. Doha was the first city in its region and only the second in West Asia to host the games.
The 2011 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 26th Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia. It was Indonesia's fourth time to host the Southeast Asian Games, and its first since 1997. Previously, Indonesia also hosted in 1979 and 1987. The capital city of Jakarta hosted all three of the previous Games prior to this. Palembang became the third SEA Games non-capital host city, after Chiang Mai (1995) and Nakhon Ratchasima (2007), both in Thailand. Around 5,965 athletes from 11 participating nations participated at the games which featured 545 events in 44 sports. The biggest competitor, sports, and events in Southeast Asian Games history.
The 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China from 12 to 27 November 2010, although several events had commenced from 7 November 2010. This was the second time China had hosted the Games, in which Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host, after Beijing in 1990. A total of 9,704 athletes from 45 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 476 events from 42 sports and disciplines, making it the largest event in the history of the Games. Due to reductions in the number of sports to be contested for the 2014 Asian Games, these Games marked the final time that six non-Olympic events would be held during the Asian Games.
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the 17th Asian Games, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event held in Incheon, South Korea. This was the third time South Korea hosted the Asian Games since 2002. Previously, it hosted the 1986 edition of the Games and the 2002 Asian Games.
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China. The relay, also called by the organizers as the "Journey of Harmony", lasted 129 days and carried the torch 137,000 km (85,000 mi) – the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition was started ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics.
The torch relay for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games was held between August 28 and September 6 in eleven cities, and also included the tomb of Yellow Emperor.
The 2018 Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta–Palembang 2018, was a continental multi-sport event that was held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in Jakarta and Palembang.
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay was run from 23 July until 14 August 2010, prior to the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore. The torch relay was termed The Journey of the Youth Olympic Flame, or JYOF, by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC). It began with the traditional flame lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece on 23 July 2010, and was followed by a 13-day round the world tour across five cities, namely Berlin, Germany; Dakar, Senegal; Mexico City, Mexico; Auckland, New Zealand; and Seoul, South Korea. Following the international leg, the torch arrived in host city Singapore on 6 August 2010 for the domestic leg.
The 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay was a 65-day run, from December 4, 2001 until February 8, 2002, prior to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The runners carried the Olympic Flame throughout the United States - following its lighting in Olympia, Greece to the opening ceremony of the 2002 games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. The 2002 torch relay was also the 50th anniversary of the Winter Olympic torch relay, which was first run during the 1952 Winter Olympics.
The 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay took part as part of the build-up to the 1968 Summer Olympics hosted in Mexico City, Mexico. The Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, and retraced the steps of Christopher Columbus, discoverer of the New World. This theme celebrated the link between Latin-American and Mediterranean civilizations.
The 2016 Summer Olympics torch relay which ran from 21 April until 5 August 2016. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch traveled to Athens on the 27 April. The Brazilian leg began in the capital, Brasília, and ended in Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium, the main venue of the 2016 Olympics. After having visited more than 300 Brazilian cities, including all 26 state capitals and the Federal District. The end of the relay was the closing to the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
The 2014 Asian Games opening ceremony was held on Friday, 19 September 2014 at the newly built Incheon Asiad Main Stadium. It began at 7:18 pm and ended at 10:20 pm Korea Standard Time (UTC+9). It was directed by renowned two Korean film directors: Im Kwon-taek who directed famous films such as Chunhyang (2000) and Sopyonje (1993) and Jang Jin who directed The Front Line (2011). Entertainer Kim Seong-ju and KBS emcee Yun Su-yeong were the host of the ceremony.
The 2018 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from October 24, 2017 until February 9, 2018, in advance of the 2018 Winter Olympics. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch traveled to Athens on 31 October. The torch began its Korean journey on 1 November, visiting all regions of Korea. The Korean leg began in Incheon: the torch travelled across the country for 101 days. 7,500 relay runners participated in the torch relay over a distance of 2,018 km. The torchbearers each carried the flame for 200 metres. The relay ended in Pyeongchang's Olympic Stadium, the main venue of the 2018 Olympics. The final torch was lit by figure skater Yuna Kim.
The 2020 Summer Olympics torch relay was held from 12 March 2020 and ended on 23 July 2021. After being lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch was handed over to the Olympic shooting champion Anna Korakaki, who became the first woman to be first Olympic torchbearer. It was then transported to Athens on 19 March by official airliner Japan Airlines. The Japanese leg began in Fukushima, and is scheduled to end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Olympics. It makes a tour of Japanese cities, including all 47 prefectural capitals. The torch is even scheduled to go to two remote island groups which are part of Tokyo. The end of the relay was the finale of the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 23 July 2021. Toyota, NTT, ENEOS, Nippon Life, JAL, ANA and Japan Post Holdings are the presenting partners of the relay, with the slogan being "Hope Lights Our Way".
The 2018 Asian Games torch relay preceded with a torch lighting ceremony on 15 July 2018 at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi, host of the first Asian Games. The flame was generated from a parabolic mirror directed straight at the sun.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics torch relay was held from 12 August 2021 to 24 August 2021. After being lit in multiple locations in Japan and Great Britain, the torch will travel around Japan and will end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The relay will take place in a minor scale than the Olympic relay, starting in Tokyo, and local flames are to be lighted through Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures where events of the games will be held. The end of the relay will be the closing to the 2020 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. The LIXIL Corporation is the presenting partner of the torch relay.
On 8 October 2006, a brief ceremony was held at the Doha Golf Club where the torch was lit with a flame named "Flame of Hospitality". With the involvement of over 3,000 people, the torch crossed eight former Asian Games host countries and four Gulf Cooperation Council member states. The torch travelled back to Doha held by Sheikh Joan Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and the journey around the city itself started on 25 November 2006 and lasted until the opening ceremony of the Games. The first pit stop was in New Delhi, the birthplace of the Asian Games on 11 October 2006 where the torch's flame was fused together with the Eternal Asian Games Flame which was generated from parabolic mirrors directed straight at the sun at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium. During the fourth stop in Hiroshima on 21 October, the torch's flame was fused together with the Peace flame at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
