Olympic torch relay

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Torch bearer Martin Hyun with the 2018 Winter Olympics torch

The Olympic torch relay as part of the Olympic symbols is an opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in modern times, performed since the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The tradition of the Olympic flame goes back to ancient Greece ; the fire was lit in honor of the goddess Hestia .

story

Origins in Greek antiquity

Torch relay on an Attic red - figure oinochoe of the Fat Boy group depicting a torch relay ( Lampadromia ), towards the end of the 4th century BC. Chr.

Torch relays were not conducted during the ancient Olympic Games . Runners crowned with olive branches set out from Elis to announce the competitions and the exact timing to the other Greek cities. They proclaimed the Olympic Peace ( Ekecheiria ): during the ancient Olympic Games all military conflicts were to be suspended so that athletes and spectators could travel to Olympia without danger . Originally, torch relays ( Greek lampadromia ) were a night race with torches that was particularly popular in Athens and was later also carried out on horseback. The competition was to get to the finish line as quickly as possible without letting the torch go out. These runs were held notably at the festivals for Pan , Artemis , and at the Panathenaea and Prometheen in honor of the Olympian fire gods . Later in Greek antiquity , "runners" were messengers who brought messages to different people, cities ( polis ), their governors and to distant citizens. These mostly young men brought news of peace, war and other news. According to legend , this is where the marathon developed .

First Olympic torch relay under National Socialism

The Olympic Flame was first lit at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. However, there was no torch relay before the opening ceremony, nor was the flame lit by a well-known person.

To this day, the Olympic torch relay is considered by the public to be an invention of the National Socialists and their Olympic organizer Carl Diem . In fact, the relay of torches was the idea of ​​the Jewish archaeologist Alfred Schiff from Berlin. The torches were produced by the armaments company Krupp from wood and metal in the shape of an olive tree leaf. After the flame, the Olympic flame, was ignited by a concave mirror in ancient Olympia , it was carried over 3187 kilometers by 3331 runners, who together formed the relay , from Greece to Berlin in twelve days and eleven nights . The torch relay was staged by Leni Riefenstahl in the film " Olympia ".

The youth organization of the Greek Communist Party OKNE planned, but without success, to prevent the Olympic torch from getting through to Germany : " All organizations through whose spheres of influence the flame was to be carried were called upon to extinguish it on Greek soil, and it was announced that that the organization that succeeds in putting out the flame will receive a prize. There were protests in Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia that were put down by security forces. Nevertheless, demonstrators in Prague managed to temporarily extinguish the torch.

The fire was first lit for the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen .

  • Memorial stone to the 1936 Olympic torch at the Bahratal border crossing

  • Olympic torch bearers 1936

  • Torch, certificate, jersey and photo of a participant

Olympic torch relay in the post-war period

Igniting the flame at Olympia

The ceremonies of the torch relay and the lighting of the Olympic flame as part of each opening of the Summer Olympics have been largely adopted uncritically. The first torch relay at the Olympic Winter Games took place in 1952 before the event in Oslo . Because the Norwegian Morgedal was considered the cradle of skiing, he started there and not in Olympia as usual. The fire was not lit by a concave mirror, but at the hearth in the hut of Sondre Norheim , a well-known Norwegian skier. Before the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer , the flame was extinguished by protesting students in Cologne in January 1994.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, stations were selected worldwide and in 2004 and 2008 each continent. At the Winter Games, the route is shorter. World-renowned companies have been sponsoring the Olympic torch relay since the 1990s. In 2004, Coca-Cola and Samsung invested around 18 million euros in the torch relay.

"Journey of Harmony" before the Summer Games in Beijing 2008

Route of the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay

There were violent protests during the torch relay under the official motto "Journey of Harmony" in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing , especially in Europe and the United States . During the traditional lighting of the flame in Olympia, three Reporters Without Borders demonstrators , including a Tibetan , interrupted the ceremony and unfurled a banner that read: "Boycott the country that tramples on human rights." China wanted said the torch was also carried through the riot-stricken Tibet Autonomous Region .

The 2008 torch relay took place in Paris under massive security measures

In the years that followed, the Olympic torch relay was repeatedly accompanied by protests. The torch was constantly protected throughout the route by a Chinese unit specially trained for this purpose.

  • In London in April 2008, dozens of people broke through cordons along streets and threw themselves in the way of runners. More than a thousand civil rights activists demonstrated against the Tibet policy of the People's Republic of China .
  • On April 7, 2008, the torch relay in Paris was broken off despite a mobilization of around 3,000 police officers due to protest actions, as a result of which the flame went out several times. According to the French police, the cause of the extinguishing of the flame was due to "technical problems". The torch was transported under police protection in a secured bus and temporarily taken to an undisclosed location.
  • Incidents also occurred in San Francisco . On April 8, three pro-Tibetan protesters climbed the Golden Gate Bridge and hung two banners proclaiming "One world one dream" and "Free Tibet." When the demonstrators climbed down from the bridge, they were arrested. On April 9, the torch was then carried through San Francisco, heavily guarded, partly through empty streets because the route was changed and shortened at short notice for fear of demonstrations. The first runner even had to be transported from the port to the city center by bus. However, IOC President Jacques Rogge assured that the torch relay would not be canceled despite a current crisis.
  • On April 17, the torch was accepted in camera in New Delhi , the Indian capital. The (shortened) run through the city center was relatively quiet. 15,000 police officers were on duty. The day before, hundreds of Tibetans demonstrated in front of the Chinese embassy in Delhi.
  • Australia threatened to arrest Chinese torch keepers if they interfered with the April 24 torch relay in Canberra . The Australian government stressed that the safety of the torch is guaranteed solely by the Australian police. The Torch Keepers had already attracted unpleasant attention in other cities.
  • To secure the torch relay in Tibet , climbing Mount Everest was temporarily banned by both Chinese and Nepalese authorities. On the Chinese side, the torch relay in Tibet was secured militarily. The car brand Audi remained the exclusive sponsor of this section, but refrained from a planned promotion in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa .

In response to the protests, the IOC decided on March 27, 2009 to limit the relay to the respective host country at future Olympic Games. The regulation should be binding from the 2016 Olympic Games ; the organizers of the 2010 and 2012 games announced in 2009 that they would not hold a global torch relay.

organization and regulations

The 1994 German stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the IOC shows the Olympic flame

The opening ceremony is organized by the National Olympic Committee of Greece . The Olympic flame is lit by actresses playing the role of priestesses in front of the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia , Greece, a few months before the opening of the Olympic Games . Clothing and choreography follow ancient models. The fire is ignited by focusing sunlight using a parabolic mirror and then carried to the old stadium in a clay pot. There the flame is handed over to the first runner by the "High Priestess" using a torch. If the sun does not shine during the official ceremony, there is a plan B : days beforehand, when the weather is fine, the fire is lit in the prescribed manner and kept in a safety lamp from which the "high priestess" can light her torch.

First stop is the ancient Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens , which also hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 . The further course is organized by the organizing committee of the respective Olympic Games .

The torch is normally carried by relay runners on foot, at the Berlin 1936 and Moscow 1980 games it was only carried on foot, but over longer distances it can be transported by other means of transport such as horse, car, bicycle, plane or ship. To ensure safe transport, the flame can be placed in a miner's lamp . Unusual modes of transport included virtual transmission by satellite in 1976 , transport by Concorde in 1992 , delivery during a parachute jump in 1994, and by divers in the sea off the Australian coast in 2000.

The runners are not only celebrities, unknown people can also take part in the torch relay. The culmination of the journey of the Olympic flame is the opening of the Olympic Games. The final runner, usually an athlete or celebrity, lights the Olympic flame in the stadium. As long as the Olympic flame burns, the peoples should let their disputes rest and compete in these sporting competitions together. The Olympic flame will be extinguished during the closing ceremony.

Torches used to be fueled by pitch or petroleum, modern torches are powered by gas cartridges. The Olympic flame must not go out during the entire relay; otherwise, according to the ceremonial at Olympia, it would have to be rekindled. For this reason, the mother flame is carried in three safety lanterns, from which the flame can be taken over again. It is disputed that the torch relay has been accompanied by security forces from the host country since 2004.

List of Olympic torch relays

Torch relays of the Summer Olympics

Torch relays of the summer games
host days total distance number of runners route final runner
Berlin 1936 12 3,187 km 3.331 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens – Thessaloniki (GRE) – Sofia ( BUL ) – Belgrade ( YUG ) – Budapest ( HUN ) – Vienna ( AUT ) – Prague ( TCH ) – Dresden ( GER ) – Berlin (GER) Fritz Schilgen , symbol of German youth sport
London 1948 13 3,160 km 1,416 Olympia ( GRE ) - Corfu (GRE) - Bari ( ITA ) - Ancona - Bologna - Milan (ITA) - Lausanne ( SUI ) - Geneva (SUI) - Besançon ( FRA ) - Metz (FRA) - Luxembourg ( LUX ) - Brussels ( BEL ) - Lille (FRA) - Calais (FRA) - Dover ( GBR ) - London (GBR) John Mark , icon of English youth sport
Helsinki 1952 20 7,870km 3,372 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Munich ( FRG ) - Düsseldorf (FRG) - Aalborg ( DEN ) - Odense - Copenhagen (DEN) - Malmö ( SWE ) - Gothenburg - Stockholm - Skellefteå (SWE) - Tornio ( FIN ) – Oulu – Tampere – Helsinki (FIN). A second flame was lit at the midnight sun on Pallastunturi (Lapland) and later merged with the Olympic flame at Tornio. Paavo Nurmi , multiple Olympic gold medalist in track and field
Stockholm 1956 9 approx. 1,000 km 490 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Copenhagen ( DEN ) – Malmö ( SWE ) – Stockholm (SWE). It was a cavalry squadron. Hans Wikne , Swedish junior dressage rider who competed in the 1964 Olympics
Melbourne 1956 21 approx. 20,470 km 3.118 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Istanbul ( TUR ) - Basra ( IRQ ) - Karachi ( PAK ) - Kolkata ( IND ) - Bangkok ( THA ) - Singapore ( SIN ) - Jakarta ( INA ) - Darwin ( AUS ) - Cairns - Brisbane - Sydney - Canberra - Melbourne (AUS). The blaze was transported from Greece to Australia by air leg to leg. Ron Clarke , world junior champion over 1 mile
Rome 1960 14 approx. 2,750 km 1,529 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens - Paleo Faliro (GRE) - Syracuse ( ITA ) - Catania - Messina - Reggio Calabria - Taranto - Paestum - Naples - Rome (ITA). The torch relay followed in the footsteps of ancient Greek settlers in Italy. A second torch relay took place between Tarquinia and Rome to commemorate the Etruscan Games . In front of the Capitol the two flames were united. Giancarlo Peris , student champion in middle-distance running
Tokyo 1964 51 26,065km 101,866 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Istanbul ( TUR ) – Beirut ( LIB ) – Tehran ( IRN ) – Lahore ( PAK ) – New Delhi ( IND ) – Rangoon ( BIR ) – Bangkok ( THA ) – Kuala Lumpur ( MAS ) – Manila ( PHI ) – Hong Kong ( HKG ) – Taipei ( TAI ) – Okinawa ( JPN ) – Route 1: Kagoshima – Nagasaki – Fukuoka – Yamaguchi – Hiroshima – Nagano – Tokyo Route 2: Kagoshima – Miyazaki – Kōchi – Kobe - Kyoto - Nagoya - Yokohama - Tokyo Route 3: Kagoshima - Miyazaki - Sapporo - Aomori - Morioka - Fukushima - Tokyo Route 4: Kagoshima - Miyazaki - Sapporo - Aomori - Akita - Niigata - Tokyo (JPN). The blaze was transported from Greece to Japan by air leg to leg. Yoshinori Sakai , was born on the day of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945).
Mexico City 1968 51 approx. 13,620 km 2,778 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Genoa ( ITA ) - Barcelona ( ESP ) - Zaragoza - Madrid - Seville - Palos de la Frontera - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ESP) - San Salvador ( BAH ) - Veracruz ( MEX ) – Puebla – Teotihuacán – Mexico City (MEX). The torch relay took place in honor of Christopher Columbus in his footsteps. The flame was transported by ship from Spain to Mexico via the Caribbean . Enriqueta Basilio , Mexican National Champion over 400 m and 80 m hurdles
Munich 1972 30 5,532km about 6,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens - Thessaloniki (GRE) - Istanbul ( TUR ) - Varna ( BUL ) - Bucharest ( ROM ) - Timișoara (ROM) - Belgrade ( YUG ) - Budapest ( HUN ) - Vienna ( AUT ) - Linz - Salzburg – Innsbruck (AUT) – Garmisch-Partenkirchen ( FRG ) – Munich (FRG) Günter Zahn , German junior champion over 1500 m
Montreal 1976 5 775 km approx. 1,214 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Ottawa ( CAN ) – Montreal (CAN). The blaze was transported by electronic pulse from Greece to Canada via satellite. Sandra Henderson (English) and Stéphane Préfontaine (French) embody the Canadian youth and the two main ethnic groups of Canada
Moscow 1980 31 4,915km about 5,000 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens – Thessaloniki (GRE) – Sofia ( BUL ) – Bucharest ( ROM ) – Chișinău ( URS ) – Kiev – Belgorod – Moscow (URS) Sergei Below , Soviet Basketball Olympic champion in Munich 1972
Los Angeles 1984 83 15,000km 3,636 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - New York ( USA ) - Boston - Philadelphia - Washington - Detroit - Chicago - Indianapolis - Atlanta - St. Louis - Kansas City - Dallas - Albuquerque - Denver - Salt Lake City - Seattle - San Francisco - San Diego - Los Angeles (USA). The blaze was airlifted from Greece to the United States . Rafer Johnson , Olympic track and field champion in Rome 1960
Seoul 1988 26 15,250km 20,899 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Jeju-do ( KOR ) - Busan - Mokpo - Daegu - Gumi - Jeonju - Cheongju - Gangneung - Wonju - Incheon - Seoul (KOR). The blaze was transported from Greece to South Korea by plane. Son Kee-chung , Berlin 1936 Olympic marathon champion
Barcelona 1992 51 6,307km 10,448 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens ( GRE ) - Empúries ( ESP ) - Zaragoza - Bilbao - La Coruña - Valladolid - Madrid - Seville - Santa Cruz de Tenerife - Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Málaga - Murcia - Valencia - Palma - Barcelona (ESP ). The route followed the Greek settlers of ancient Spain. The flame was transported from Greece to Spain by ship. Antonio Rebollo , Paralympic archer and track and field athlete
Atlanta 1996 112 27,890km approx. 13,270 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Los Angeles ( USA ) - Phoenix - Las Vegas - San Francisco - Seattle - Salt Lake City - Denver - Kansas City - Oklahoma City - Dallas - St. Louis - Minneapolis - Chicago - Detroit - Boston - New York - Philadelphia - Washington - Knoxville - Birmingham - Miami - Atlanta (USA). The blaze was airlifted from Greece to the United States . Muhammad Ali , Olympic champion in boxing in Rome 1960
Sydney 2000 127 27,000km 13,300 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Hagåtña ( GUM ) – Koror ( PLW ) – Palikir ( FSM ) – Yaren ( NRU ) – Honiara ( SOL ) – Port Moresby ( PNG ) – Port Vila ( VAN ) – Apia ( SAM ) - Pago Pago ( ASA ) - Avarua ( COK ) - Nuku'alofa ( TGA ) - Suva ( FIJ ) - Queenstown ( NZL ) - Christchurch - Wellington - Auckland (NZL) - Uluṟu ( AUS ) - Mount Isa - Brisbane - Rockhampton - Townsville - Thursday Island - Darwin - Broome - Carnarvon - Albany - Perth - Adelaide - Melbourne - Hobart - Melbourne - Bourke - Canberra - Sydney (AUS). The blaze was transported from Greece to Australia in a stage-by-stage plane. Cathy Freeman , Native American track and field athlete
Athens 2004 142 86,000km 11,360 Olympic ( GRE ) - Marathon - Athens (GRE) - Sydney ( AUS ) - Melbourne (AUS) - Tokyo ( JPN ) - Seoul ( KOR ) - Beijing ( CHN ) - New Delhi ( IND ) - Cairo ( EGY ) - Cape Town ( RSA ) - Rio de Janeiro ( BRA ) - Mexico City ( MEX ) - Los Angeles ( USA ) - St. Louis - Atlanta - New York (USA ) - Montreal ( CAN ) - Antwerp ( BEL ) - Brussels (BEL) – Amsterdam ( NED ) – Lausanne ( SUI ) – Geneva (SUI) – Paris ( FRA ) – London ( GBR ) – Madrid ( ESP ) – Barcelona (ESP) – Rome ( ITA ) – Munich ( GER ) – Berlin (GER) – Stockholm ( SWE ) – Helsinki ( FIN ) – Moscow ( RUS ) – Kiev ( UKR ) – Istanbul ( TUR ) – Sofia ( BUL ) – Nicosia ( CYP ) – Heraklion (GRE) – Thessaloniki – Patras – Athens (GRE). The torch relay went "around the world" by plane - visiting all former host cities. Nikolaos Kaklamanakis , Olympic champion in windsurfing Atlanta 1996
Beijing 2008 130 137,000km 21,800 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Beijing ( CHN ) – Almaty ( KAZ ) – Istanbul ( TUR ) – Saint Petersburg ( RUS ) – London ( GBR ) – Paris ( FRA ) – San Francisco ( USA ) – Buenos Aires ( ARG ) - Dar es Salaam ( TAN ) - Muscat ( OMA ) - Islamabad ( PAK ) - New Delhi ( IND ) - Bangkok ( THA ) - Kuala Lumpur ( MAS ) - Jakarta ( INA ) - Canberra ( AUS ) - Nagano ( JPN ) – Seoul ( KOR ) – Pyongyang ( PRK ) – Ho Chi Minh City ( VIE ) – Hong Kong ( HKG ) – Macao ( MAC ) – Sanya (CHN) – Haikou – Guangzhou – Shenzhen – Fuzhou – Nanchang – Hangzhou – Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing - Hefei - Wuhan - Changsha - Guilin - Nanning - Kunming - Guiyang - Chongqing - Urumqi - Kashgar - Lhasa - Xining - Taiyuan - Yinchuan - Xi'an - Lanzhou - Hohhot - Harbin - Changchun - Shenyang - Qingdao - Jinan – Luoyang – Shijiazhuang – Tianjin – Chengdu – Beijing (CHN). On the international part of the route, the flame was transported from stage to stage by plane. On May 8, 2008, a group of climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest carrying the Olympic torch . Li Ning , three-time Olympic gymnastics champion in Los Angeles 1984
London 2012 70 12,800km about 8,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Land's End ( GBR ) - Plymouth - Torquay - Bath - Bristol - Cardiff - Swansea - Bangor - Much Wenlock - Liverpool - Douglas - Belfast - Londonderry/Derry (GBR) - Dublin ( IRL ) - Belfast (GBR) - Stranraer - Glasgow - Inverness - Kirkwall - Lerwick - Stornoway - Inverness - Aberdeen - Dundee - Stirling - Edinburgh - Newcastle upon Tyne - Kingston upon Hull - York - Dumfries - Blackpool - Manchester - Leeds - Sheffield - Nottingham - Derby - Birmingham - Stratford-upon-Avon - Rugby - Coventry - Norwich - Cambridge - Stoke Mandeville - Oxford - Windsor - Ascot - Salisbury - Shaftesbury - Bournemouth - Southampton - Saint Peter Port - Saint Helier - Portsmouth - Brighton - Hastings - Dover - Canterbury - London (GBR). The blaze was transported from Greece to Cornwall by air. Katie Kirk , Desiree Henry , Adelle Tracey , Cameron MacRitchie , Jordan Duckitt , Aidan Reynolds and Callum Airlie , young British athletes
Rio de Janeiro 2016 95 about 20,000 km 12,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Lausanne ( SUI ) - Geneva (SUI) - Brasília ( BRA ) - Goiânia - Belo Horizonte - Vitória - Salvador da Bahia - Aracaju - Maceió - Recife - João Pessoa - Natal - Fortaleza - Teresina - Palmas - São Luís - Belém - Macapá - Boa Vista - Manaus - Rio Branco - Porto Velho - Cuiabá - Campo Grande - Foz do Iguaçu - Porto Alegre - Florianópolis - Curitiba - São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro (BRA). The flame was transported by plane from Greece to Brazil via Switzerland . Vanderlei de Lima , bronze medalist in the 2004 Athens marathon
Tokyo 2020 Olympia ( GRE ) - Sparta - Athens (GRE) - Sendai ( JPN ) - Fukushima - Naraha - Nagano - Gifu - Nagoya - Nara - Suita - Kōchi - Miyazaki - Kagoshima - Naha - Nagasaki - Fukuoka - Hiroshima - Kobe - Kyoto - Kanazawa - Yamagata - Aomori - Sapporo - Morioka - Sendai - Shizuoka - Yokohama - Chiba - Saitama - Tokyo (JPN). The relay between Olympia and Athens had to be stopped in Sparta because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The flame was transported by plane from Athens to Japan. After the games were postponed by a year, the torch relay was interrupted. On March 25, 2021, it resumed in Fukushima Prefecture , which was hit by a nuclear disaster . Naomi Osaka , tennis player

Torch relays of the Winter Olympics

Torch relays of the winter games
host days total
distance 		number of runners route final runner
Oslo 1952 2 225 km 94 Morgedal ( NOR ) - Notodden - Kongsberg - Drammen - Oslo (NOR). The flame was lit at the hearth of the birthplace of ski pioneer Sondre Norheim in Norway's Telemark region and transported on skis. Eigil Nansen , grandson of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 5 Rome ( ITA ) – Venice – Cortina d'Ampezzo (ITA). The flame was lit in the Temple of Jupiter in the Roman Forum and transported to Venice by plane. From there the torch relay began. Guido Caroli , Italian speed skater who competed in the 1948, 1952 and 1956 Winter Olympics.
Squaw Valley 1960 19 960 km 700 Morgedal ( NOR ) - Oslo (NOR ) - Copenhagen ( DEN ) - Los Angeles ( USA ) - Bakersfield - Fresno - Stockton - San Francisco - Sacramento - Squaw Valley ( USA ). Olympia refused to carry out the ignition because the organizers decided to do it too late. Thus the flame was rekindled in Morgedal. She was airlifted from Denmark to the United States . Kenneth Henry , American Olympic speed skating champion
Innsbruck 1964 8th Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Vienna ( AUT ) – Innsbruck (AUT) Josef Rieder , Austrian skier who had competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics
Grenoble 1968 50 7,222km 5,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Paris ( FRA ) - Reims - Nancy - Strasbourg - Lyon - Bordeaux - Toulouse - Marseille - Nice - Chamonix - Grenoble (FRA) Alain Calmat , French silver medalist in figure skating
Saporo 1972 38 18,741km 16,300 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Naha ( JPN ) – Tokyo – Nirasaki ; 1. Route to Hokkaidō : Nirasaki - Nagano - Niigata - Yamagata - Aomori ; 2. Route to Hokkaido : Nirasaki - Nikkō - Fukushima - Morioka - Aomori ; 1. Route through Hokkaidō : Hakodate – Sapporo ; 2. Route through Hokkaido : Hakodate - Wakkanai - Rumoi - Sapporo ; 3. Route through Hokkaido : Hakodate - Nemuro - Abashiri - Sapporo (JPN). The flame was transported from Greece to Japan by plane. Hideki Takada , Japanese student and speed skater
Innsbruck 1976 6 1,618km Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Vienna ( AUT ); 1st route : Vienna – Linz – Salzburg – Innsbruck ; 2nd route : Vienna – Graz – Klagenfurt – Innsbruck (AUT). In Vienna, the flame was divided into two: a commemorative flame in 1964 and the Olympic flame in 1976. Christl Haas (Remembrance Flame), Austrian Olympic champion in downhill from 1964, and Josef Feistmantl (Olympic Flame), Austrian Olympic champion in doubles luge from 1964
Lake Placid 1980 15 12,824km 52 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Shannon ( IRL ) - Hampton ( USA ) - Washington - Baltimore - Philadelphia - New York - Albany - Lake Placid (USA). The blaze was airlifted from Greece to the United States . Charles Morgan Kerr
Sarajevo 1984 11 5,289km 1,600 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Dubrovnik ( YUG ) – 1st leg : Dubrovnik – Split – Ljubljana – Zagreb – Sarajevo ; 2nd route : Dubrovnik - Skopje - Niš - Belgrade - Novi Sad - Sarajevo (YUG). First fully sponsored torch relay Sandra Dubravic , Yugoslav figure skater who competed in the 1980 and 1984 Winter Olympics.
Calgary 1988 95 18,000km 6,250 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - St. John's ( CAN ) - Halifax - Québec - Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto - Winnipeg - Regina - Yellowknife - Inuvik - Whitehorse - Vancouver - Edmonton - Calgary (CAN). The blaze was transported from Greece to Canada by plane. Robyn Perry , 12-year-old Canadian high school student and figure skater
Albertville 1992 85 5,500km 5,597 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Paris ( FRA ) - Nantes - Le Havre - Lille - Strasbourg - Dijon - Limoges - Bordeaux - Toulouse - Montpellier - Ajaccio - Nice - Marseille - Lyon - Grenoble - Albertville (FRA) Michel Platini , multiple European Footballer of the Year from France and European champion along with eight-year-old junior skier François-Cyrille Grange
Lillehammer 1994 82 12,000km Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Frankfurt am Main ( GER ) – Stuttgart – Karlsruhe – Düsseldorf – Cologne – Dortmund – Hamburg (GER) – Copenhagen ( DEN ) – Stockholm ( SWE ) – Helsinki ( FIN ) – Oslo ( NOR ) – Lillehammer . A second torch relay took place at the same time : Morgedal (NOR) - Bergen - Trondheim - Tromsø - Svalbard - Oslo . This second flame died out in Oslo. Haakon , Crown Prince of Norway
Nagano 1998 51 3,486km 6,901 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Tokyo ( JPN ) – Route 1 : Tokyo – Sapporo – Aomori – Akita – Fukushima – Chiba – Tokyo – Nagano ; 2nd route : Tokyo - Naha - Nagasaki - Hiroshima - Kyoto - Niigata - Nagano ; 3rd Route : Tokyo - Kagoshima - Miyazaki - Osaka - Shizuoka - Nagano (JPN). The flame was transported from Greece to Japan by plane. Midori Itō , Japanese silver medalist in figure skating
Salt Lake City 2002 85 21,275km 12.012 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Atlanta ( USA ) - Miami - New Orleans - Houston - Dallas - Memphis - Pittsburgh - Cumberland - Washington - Baltimore - Philadelphia - New York - Boston - Lake Placid - Cleveland - Chicago - Detroit - Indianapolis - Lexington - St. Louis - Omaha - Oklahoma City - Amarillo - Albuquerque - Phoenix - Los Angeles - San Francisco - Squaw Valley - Reno - Portland - Seattle - Juneau - Boise - Bozeman - Cheyenne - Denver - Salt Lake City (USA) . The blaze was airlifted from Greece to the United States . Mike Eruzione with the whole 1980 US ice hockey team that unexpectedly won gold
Torino 2006 75 11,300km 10,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Rome ( ITA ) - Florence - Genoa - Cagliari - Palermo - Reggio Calabria - Naples - Bari - Ancona (ITA) - San Marino ( RSM ) - Bologna (ITA) - Venice - Trieste ( ITA) - Ljubljana ( SLO ) - Klagenfurt ( AUT ) - Trento (ITA) - Cortina d'Ampezzo - Meran - Milan (ITA) - Lugano ( SUI ) - Bardonecchia (ITA) - Grenoble ( FRA ) - Albertville (FRA) - Aosta (ITA) – Torino (ITA) Stefania Belmondo , Italian gold medalist in cross-country skiing
Vancouver 2010 114 45,000km 12,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Victoria ( CAN ) - Whitehorse - Inuvik - Kugluktuk - Yellowknife - Grande Prairie - Churchill - Alert - Iqaluit - Gaspé - Happy Valley-Goose Bay - St. John's - Halifax - Charlottetown - Fredericton - Quebec - Montreal - Ottawa - Toronto - Windsor - Thunder Bay - Winnipeg - Regina - Edmonton - Calgary - Kelowna - Prince George - Prince Rupert - Port Hardy - Squamish - Hope - Surrey - Vancouver (CAN) Nancy Greene , Canadian former alpine skier and Olympic champion
Wayne Gretzky , Canadian former ice hockey player
Catriona LeMay Doan , Canadian former speed skater and Olympic champion
Steve Nash , Canadian basketball player
Sochi 2014 123 65,000km 14,000 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Moscow ( RUS ) - Tver - Smolensk - Ryazan - Vladimir - Yaroslavl - Veliky Novgorod - Saint Petersburg - Kaliningrad - Murmansk - Arkhangelsk - Syktyvkar - Khanty-Mansiysk - Norilsk - Yakutsk - Magadan - Anadyr - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Vladivostok - Khabarovsk - Blagoveshchensk - Ulan-Ude - Irkutsk - Krasnoyarsk - Kyzyl - Novosibirsk - Omsk - Yekaterinburg - Chelyabinsk - Ufa - Samara - Ulyanovsk - Kazan - Perm - Nizhny Novgorod - Saratov - Belgorod - Voronezh - Volgograd - Rostov-on-Don – Astrakhan – Makhachkala – Vladikavkaz – Cherkessk – Grozny – Krasnodar – Sochi (RUS). On October 20, 2013, an icebreaker carrying the Olympic Flame aboard arrived at the North Pole from Murmansk . On November 7, the flare (without fire) was also flown to the ISS on a Soyuz rocket . Vladislav Tretyak , former Russian ice hockey goalie, and Irina Rodnina , Russian Olympic champion in figure skating
Pyeongchang 2018 109 Olympia ( GRE ) - Athens (GRE) - Incheon Airport ( KOR ) - Jeju - Busan - Ulsan - Changwon - Muan - Gwangju - Jeonju - Hongseong - Daejeon - Sejong - Cheongju - Andong - Daegu - Suwon - Incheon - Seoul - Chuncheon - Gangneung – Pyeongchang (KOR) Kim Yu-na , South Korean Olympic champion in figure skating
Beijing 2022 3 Olympia ( GRE ) – Athens (GRE) – Beijing ( CHN ) – Zhangjiakou – Yanqing – Beijing (CHN). The torch relay in China has been limited to the last three days before the opening ceremony. Dinigeer Yilamujiang , a Uyghur minority cross-country skier, and Zhao Jiawen , a Nordic combined athlete

Torch relays of the Youth Olympic Games

Torch relays of the youth games
host days total distance number of runners route final runner
Singapore 2010 22 26,700km 2,400 Olympia ( GRE ) – Berlin ( GER ) – Dakar ( SEN ) – Mexico City ( MEX ) – Auckland ( NZL ) – Seoul ( KOR ) – Singapore ( SGP ) Darren Choy
Innsbruck 2012 18 3,573km 2.012 Athens ( GRE ) - Innsbruck ( AUT ) - Bregenz - St. Anton am Arlberg - Lienz - Klagenfurt - Semmering - Vienna - Graz - Eisenstadt - St. Pölten - Linz - Salzburg - Schladming - Seefeld in Tirol - Kühtai - Kufstein - Innsbruck ( AUT) Paul Gerstgraser
Nanjing 2014 108 ?? km 204 Athens ( GRE ) - virtual around the world - Nanjing ( CHN ) - physical torch relay - Nanjing (CHN) Chen Ruolin
Lillehammer 2016 ?? km Athens ( GRE ) - Oslo ( NOR ) - Alta - Tromsø - Bodø - Trondheim - Bergen - Stavanger - Morgedal - Lillehammer (NOR) Ingrid Alexandra , Princess of Norway
Buenos Aires 2018 ?? km Athens ( GRE ) - La Plata ( ARG ) - Paraná - Santa Fe - Puerto Iguazú - Corrientes - San Salvador de Jujuy - Salta - San Miguel de Tucumán - San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca - La Rioja - Mendoza - Córdoba - Neuquén - Bariloche – Ushuaia – Buenos Aires (ARG) Santiago Lange and Paula Pareto
Lausanne 2020 ?? km Athens ( GRE ) - Geneva ( SUI ) - Lausanne - Zurich - Basel - Bern - Sion - Locarno - St. Gallen - Lucerne - Chur - St. Moritz - Champéry - Leysin (SUI) - Les Tuffes ( FRA ) - Lausanne (SUI ) Gina Zehnder

web links

Torch Gallery in the Olympic Museum
Commons : Olympic Torch Relay  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Olympic Torch Relay: San Francisco Protests  – News
 Wikinews: China condemns demonstrations along Olympic torch relay in Paris  - news
 Wikinews: Paris Olympic torch relay ends in chaos  – news

itemizations

  1. ↑ Stephan Lehmann : Sport of the Hellenes - The Berlin exhibition of 1936 and the Jewish archaeologist Alfred Schiff (1863-1939). , in: A. Höfer/M. Lambs/K Lennartz (ed.), Stadion Band 29 (2003) Special Volume Olympic Games Olympic Games Jeux Olympiques , St. Augustin 2004, pp. 199–220.
  2. ↑ The Forgotten Father of the Torch Relay, article on Einetage.spiegel.de, retrieved September 3, 2016
  3. ^ Quoted from: OKNE 1922-1943 . Publisher Synchroni Epochi – Odigitis, Athens 1989
  4. ↑ Telepolis: "Put out the flame," the failed attempts to prevent the arrival of the Olympic flame in Nazi Germany in 1936
  5. ↑ Sueddeutsche Zeitung: IOC wants to limit torch relay in future
  6. ↑ Olympic flame lit - ceremony disrupted. In: Basler Zeitung . 2008-03-24, archived from the original on 2008-03-24 ; retrieved 10 August 2016 .
  7. ↑ Brown receives torchbearer - chaotic scenes in London Der Spiegel, April 6, 2008
  8. ↑ Sueddeutsche Zeitung: Olympic torch relay canceled ( Memento of October 26, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Tibetan protest at the Golden Gate Bridge Blick, April 8, 2008
  10. ↑ Olympic Torch Relay. In: zombietime.com. Retrieved August 10, 2016 .
  11. ↑ Lackluster Olympic torch relay in San Francisco Salzburger Nachrichten, April 9, 2008
  12. ↑ Olympic torch relay in Delhi without spectators NZZ Online, April 17, 2008
  13. ↑ Australia threatens China's special troops (tagesschau.de archive) Tagesschau.de, April 16, 2008
  14. ↑ Australia threatens Chinese special forces. In: Zeit Online April 10, 2008.
  15. ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung : Without much fuss from March 27, 2009.
  16. ↑ The Olympic Flame and the Torch Relay. (PDF; 1.1 MB) Olympic Museum , retrieved 10 August 2016 .
  17. ↑ Montreal Torch , olympic.org
  18. ↑ Background information on the Olympic torch relay ( Memento of May 26, 2007 at the Internet Archive ) at beijing2008.cn (English).
  19. ↑ China's ominous torch guardians , Spiegel-Online, April 8, 2008
  20. ↑ Sochi Olympic Flame Arrives at North Pole. In: sochi2014.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013 ; Retrieved 10 August 2016 (English).
  21. ↑ Astronauts bring Olympic torch into space , Deutsche Welle, November 7, 2013.
  22. ↑ Olympic Torch Relay Route. In: pyeongchang2018.com. Retrieved October 24, 2017 (English).
  23. ↑ Torch relay with a political message. In: tagesschau.de. Retrieved February 2, 2022 .
  24. ↑ Xi Jinping opens Winter Olympics . In: zeit.de, February 4, 2022 (accessed on February 4, 2022).