The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. 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. Through 2022, the flame would continue to burn in the cauldron for the duration of the Games, until it was extinguished during the Olympic closing ceremony. In 2024, electric lighting and mist were used to create a simulated flame for the Olympic cauldron, with the actual flame kept in a lantern exhibited at an adjacent location.
The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and officially branded as Tokyo 2020, were an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July 2021. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 7 September 2013.
The Olympic Games ceremonies of the ancient Olympic Games were an integral part of the games; modern Olympic Games have opening, closing, and medal ceremonies. Some of the elements of the modern ceremonies date back to the ancient games from which the modern Olympics draw their ancestry. An example of this is the prominence of Greece in both the opening and closing ceremonies. During the 2004 Summer Olympics, the medal winners received a crown of olive branches, which was a direct reference to the ancient games, in which the victor's prize was an olive wreath. The various elements of ceremonies are mandated by the Olympic Charter, and cannot be changed by the host nation. Host nations are required to seek the approval of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for ceremony elements, including the artistic portions of the opening and closing ceremonies.
The 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay was a 106-day run, from October 30, 2009, until February 12, 2010, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Plans for the relay were originally announced November 21, 2008, by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). Communities were initially informed in June 2008, but the locations were not announced for "security reasons". Exact routes were later announced several weeks before the start of the torch relay.
The 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from 19 May until 27 July, prior to the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The torch bearer selection process was announced on 18 May 2011.
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 2012 Summer Paralympics torch relay ran from 22 to 29 August 2012, prior to the 2012 Summer Paralympics. The relay began with four flames kindled on the highest peaks of the four nations of the United Kingdom, which were then brought to their respective capital cities for special events honouring the upcoming Games. For the relay proper, the four national flames were united at a ceremony in Stoke Mandeville in preparation for a final 92-mile (148-kilometre) journey to London.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Though the whole event was eventually cancelled due to the outbreak of war, the 1940 Summer Olympics torch relay was planned for both of the proposed host cities. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 1940 Summer Olympics to Tokyo, Japan in July 1936. Tokyo's ability to host the event was questioned after war broke out with China with some countries calling for the Games to be boycotted. The Japanese decided to cancel the event and Helsinki, Finland, the runner-up city in the bidding process, was selected as the replacement. That too was cancelled after the outbreak of World War II.
The 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay was the transferral of the Olympic Flame to Sydney, Australia, that built up to the 2000 Summer Olympics. The torch travelled to various island nations as part of a tour of Oceania before beginning an extensive journey around Australia. For the first time the Flame was taken underwater, with a special flare-like torch taken on a dive down to the Great Barrier Reef. At the opening ceremony the cauldron was lit by Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman.
The 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from April 27 to July 19, leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The route covered 26,875 kilometers (16,699 mi) across the United States and featured a wide variety in the methods of transport used, including bicycles, boats, and trains. The National Pony Express Association participated in the journey, with riders carrying the torch for over 56 continuous hours. The torch was taken on board a replica of a 19th-century packet boat and pulled for 3.2 kilometers (2.0 mi) along the Erie Canal by mule. The torch was also carried into space for the first time, with astronauts taking an unlit torch with them aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as part of STS-78. The relay involved over 12,000 torchbearers, including Muhammad Ali, who was chosen to ignite the Olympic cauldron.
The opening ceremony of the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally opened by Emperor Naruhito. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal and ceremonial opening of this international sporting event, including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history. The majority of the artistic spectacle was pre-recorded, with live segments performed adhering to social distancing to athletes, officials and a small VIP audience. The ceremony marked the 125th anniversary of the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens—the inaugural edition of the modern Olympic Games.
The 1988 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from November 15, 1987, to February 13, 1988, prior to the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics.
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 was intended to travel around Japan and end in Tokyo's New National Stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Summer Paralympics. The relay took place on a smaller scale than the Olympic relay, starting in Tokyo, with local flames lighted through Saitama, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures where events of the games were held. The relay ended at the 2020 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony. The LIXIL Corporation was the presenting partner of the torch relay.
The 1952 Summer Olympics torch relay was the symbolic transport of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the venue of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where it featured as part of the opening ceremony.
The 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay was run from 18 October 2021 until 4 February 2022. After it was lit in Olympia, Greece, the torch traveled in a symbolic relay to Athens on 19 October. The Chinese leg ended in Beijing National Stadium, at the end of the opening ceremony. On 20 October 2021, it was announced that the Chinese leg will have only three days, following a series of displays of the flame in various Chinese cities, starting on 2 February, at the morning of the first day of the Chinese New Year as stage 3. Unlike the previous relays, the relay only visited the three venues clusters, the main sights of Beijing and the city of Zhangjiakou. The final torch was lit by long-distance runner Dilnigar Ilhamjan and nordic combined Zhao Jiawen.
The 2020 Summer Olympics cauldron was made for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Shoji Tomihisa was a Japanese track and field athlete who was also an atomic bomb survivor. He was a hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. He also holds the Japanese national record in men's 60m in the 100~104 age category. He rose to prominence and limelight after competing at the 2017 Chugoku Region Masters Athletics Championship.
