History Of The Torch Relay

ERROR MSG The Torch Relay that we know today has its roots in Ancient Greece. The event was known as lampadiodromia. It was a religious ritual aswell as an athletic event. The flame for the torch was lit by the sun using a skaphia (a type of concave offering tray). The torch was then carried through Greece and remained outside the ancient stadium during the games.

The Flame symbolizes the light of spirit, knowledge, life, purity, and endeavor for perfection. The passing of the flame from torch to torch represents the passing of these ideals from generation to generation.

ERROR MSG The modern torch relay is the brain child of Dr. Carl Diem, the secretary of the organizing committee for the 1936 Berlin games. Diem suggested that the flame be lit using a concave mirror and the sun's rays, just as the Greeks had ignited their torches in ancient times. The first modern torchbearer was a young Greek man by the name of Kostas Kondylis. From Ancient Olympia, he passed the flame onto other torchbearers, who carried it across Europe to Berlin for the 1936 Olympic games. Not only did 1936 mark the first year for the celebrated torch relay, but also the first time the Olympic games were televised.

Since its inception in 1936, the torch relay has had many highlights, including the 100-day, 27,000-kilometer trek that prefaced the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, Australia. Other highlights include the flame's first airplane ride in 1956. Twenty years later, in 1976, the flame was transmitted by laser beam via satellite from Olympia to Montreal.

The relay is not the only thing to evolve over the years. The torch itself has also been modernized. The first Olympic torch was believed to be made of dry grass. By contrast, modern torches have used a variety of high-tech fuels, including hexamine or naphthalene. In 1956, a mixture of magnesium and aluminum was used. But this mixture, commonly used in July 4th fire works, is potentially dangerous. In order to provide a safe bright flame that stays lit in all weather conditions, a mixture of liquid gases has been used since 1972.

For the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic games, 11,000 people will be nominated to carry the torch. Following the tradition established in 1936, these torchbearers will pass the flame from its ancient birthplace in Greece to Salt Lake City, Utah, host of the 2002 winter games. The symbolic flame will burn for the duration of the games. Display Your Torch