The Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch Relay begins with the torch lighting in Olympia, Greece. From there, the journey to the host city varies from year to year. The Olympic Games Organizing Committee (OCOG) determines the route, as well as the theme, modes of transportation for the torch, and the stops that it will take along its way to the Opening Ceremony.


Photo courtesy http://www.areamediafiamma.it/ Copyright © 2005 Torino 2006 ®
During the 2006 Torino Olympic Torch Relay, a torchbearer passes the flame to a fellow torchbearer.

The torch is generally carried from one country to another on a plane. Once it arrives in a city, it usually spends one day being carried from torchbearer to torchbearer on foot. It may also be ferried from place to place by car, boat, bicycle, motorcycle, dog sled, horse, or virtually any other type of conveyance.

On certain legs of the relay, the torch must be housed in a special container. For a trip across the Great Barrier Reef before the 2000 Olympic Games, a special torch was designed to burn underwater. On airplanes, where open flames are not allowed, the flame is typically stored in an enclosed lamp, much like a Miner's lamp. At night, it is kept in a special cauldron until the relay begins once again the following day.


Photo courtesy Georgia Institute of Technology
Photo by Stanley Leary
Sam Shelton, who created both the 1996 Atlanta torch and the 2002 Salt Lake City torch, examines the Olympic Cauldron that holds the flame at various points during the relay.

As in any relay race, each runner carries the torch for only one short leg of its trip As a runner completes a leg, he lights the torch of the next person in the relay.


Photo courtesy NASA
Torchbearer Stephanie Stockman, an employee in the NASA Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics in Maryland, passes the flame to the next runner.

It is considered a great privilege to be chosen as a torchbearer. Athletes, actors, musicians, sports figures, and politicians have all carried the flame. In 1996, boxing legend Muhammed Ali lit the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games in Atlanta. But the brunt of the running is done by average citizens all around the world.


Photo courtesy ANA
A torchbearer in the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay lights her torch from the cauldron to begin another day of the relay in Greece.

Almost anyone can carry a torch, provided that he is at least 14 years old and is able to carry it for at least 400 meters (437 yards). Handicapped people can be (and have been) torchbearers -- they can carry the torch while riding in a wheelchair. The torchbearers are chosen by the Olympic sponsors and organizers, usually because they have made a significant contribution to their community and because they personify the theme of that particular Olympics. The Olympic sponsors (for example, Coca-Cola) also get to choose several torchbearers from within their organizations.


Photo courtesy Whitehouse.gov
U.S. President George W. Bush speaks during the Olympic Torch Relay Ceremony at the White House. He announced two torchbearers, Liz Howell and Eric Jones, both of whom were profoundly affected by the Sept. 11 attacks.

Each torchbearer is accompanied by a caravan with security personnel, a medical team, the media, and extra torches in case the torch the runner is carrying goes out.

At the end of the relay, the last torchbearer enters the Olympic stadium in the host city. The identity of that torchbearer is usually kept secret until the last moment. The final torchbearer is usually an Olympic athlete, sports figure, or an individual who has made a very special contribution to society. That individual runs around the stadium track once, then lights the Olympic cauldron, signaling the official start of the Olympic games.


Photo courtesy www.andrewgrill.com
Opening Ceremony of 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney

When the competition ends about two weeks later, the flame is extinguished at the Closing Ceremony, marking the end of the Games.

The 2006 Torino Olympics Relay
The 2006 Olympic Torch Relay is a 6,835 mile (11,000 km) relay that includes 10,000 torchbearers. It started in Rome, Italy after the Olympic Flame arrived from Greece by airplane. The relay route includes notable Italian landmarks, every regional capital, numerous towns and the cities listed below. The route also takes the Torch through San Marino, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland and France.

  • Rome December 8-9, 2005
  • Perugia December 13, 2005
  • Florence December 14, 2005
  • Genoa December 18, 2005
  • Cagliari December 20, 2005
  • Palermo December 23, 2005
  • Catanzaro December 28, 2005
  • Potenza December 30, 2005
  • Naples December 31, 2005
  • Bari January 5, 2006
  • Campobasso January 7, 2006
  • L'Aquila January 9, 2006
  • Ancona January 10, 2006
  • Bologna January 13, 2006
  • Venice January 17, 2006
  • Trieste January 18, 2006
  • Trento January 23, 2006
  • Bolzano January 24, 2006
  • Milan January 29, 2006
  • Aosta February 7, 2006
  • Turin February 9-10, 2006

To find out more about the Olympics, the torch, and related topics, check out the links on the next page.