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• A symbol of the Olympics and the brotherhood of the competitors, the Olympic Torch burns throughout the Olympic Games and is not extinguished until the closing ceremony. This tradition originated at the ancient Olympic Games in Greece and was revived at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics.

  On February 12, 2009, the torch that will be used for the 2010 Winter Olympics was unveiled in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The event was set to commemorate the one year mark to count down to the start of the Olympics. The design of the new torch features the Vancouver 2010 Ilanaaq the Inukshuk logo and a red maple leaf.Canoe.ca: Olympic torch unveiled (February 12, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Torch Race first organized during 1936 Olympic Games in Germany
  2. Torch sometimes transported by boat, horseback, plane or other means
  3. Transported by radio signal in 1976
  4. Carried up Mount Everest in 2008
  5. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the cauldron was lit with a flaming arrow shot by an archer

• Carrying the Flame

  The flame is lit several months before the start of the Olympic Games as part of a special ritual in Greece. It is lit using the sun's rays in a parabolic mirror as it was done in ancient times. A series of runners carry the flame across many nations of the world, passing it from one to another until it arrives at the stadium where the games are to be held. The final runner circles the stadium holding the torch high, then lights the cauldron with it to signal that the games have begun.

• Notable Recent Torch Bearers

  1. 1994: Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
  2. 1996: Muhammad Ali
  3. 2002: The entire 1980 gold medal winning U.S. hockey team
  4. 2008: Jackie Chan

• Related Mahalo Pages

  2010 Olympic Torch | Olympics | Olympic Torch Relay | Olympic Torch San Francisco | Olympic Torch New Delhi | 2008 Olympics | Winter Olympics | 2010 Winter Olympics | Muhammad Ali | Jackie Chan | Softball

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