| Host city | Nanjing, China |
|---|---|
| Countries visited | Greece, China (202 others virtually) |
| Start date | 30 April 2014 |
| End date | 16 August 2014 |
| Torch designer | Ji Ziyi |
The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay took part as part of the build-up to the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics hosted in Nanjing, China.
Nicknamed the Door of Happiness. The main body of the torch is covered in the metallic luster. And the torch is extremely light. The silver-colored part is designed into the shape of letter “n”, which is the initial of the city's name, Nanjing, and is also in the shape of the city gate of the Ming Dynasty, symbolizing Nanjing's hope to present its grandeur and brilliance to the world through the games. The blue part represents the Yangtze River, the water of which passes through the gate. The gray strips at the bottom of the torch are the symbol of ripples, rendering the torch more dynamic. [1]
A global virtual torch relay was held from 30 April to 16 August, visiting 258 virtual locations around the world. [2] From 30 April to 10 July, each of the world's 204 National Olympic Committees was allotted eight hours to hold the virtual flame. It then visited 30 provinces and regions of China (with Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, and Macau all having been included in the 204 NOCs instead) from 10 to 28 July. Entering the host province of Jiangsu, the virtual flame separately visited its 12 prefectures from 29 July to 5 August, then each of Nanjing's 11 districts (Jianye was visited twice) from 6 to 16 August. [3]
During the virtual phase of the torch relay, anybody in the world could become a digital torchbearer by downloading the relay's official app and playing its interactive games, featuring the Youth Olympic mascot Nanjinglele. Over 112 million visits to the Nanjing 2014 Virtual Torch Relay server were recorded. Two brief runs were also held with the physical flame collected from Greece in Nanjing on 8 and 12 August, before the lighting of the cauldron at the opening ceremony on 16 August by Chen Ruolin. [4]
| Route | Map |
|---|---|
30 April (day 1): Greece | |
18 May (day 19): Iceland, Bermuda, Canada | |
20 May (day 21): Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras | |
28 May (day 29): Colombia, Guyana, Venezuela | |
2 June (day 34): Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia | |
20 June (day 52): New Zealand, Cook Islands, American Samoa | |
25 June (day 57): Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia | |
10 July (day 72): Macau, Hainan | |
29 July (day 91): Xuzhou, Lianyungang | |
6–7 August: Jianye, Gulou |