The Olympic Flame and Torch Relay



"As in the daytime there is no star in the sky warmer and brighter than the sun, likewise there is no competition greater than the Olympic Games."
Pindar, Greek lyric poet, 5th century BC.

The tradition of the Olympic flame began during the ancient Olympic Games. A flame was lit for each Olympics, every four years, and burned throughout the games. There was no torch relay in the ancient Olympics.

One of the best-known traditions of the Modern Olympics is the Olympic Torch Relay . The torch relay began at the 1936 games in Berlin, Germany. The Olympic flame is always lit in Ancient Olympia using the rays of the sun and a parabolic mirror. The flame is then used to light the Olympic Torch. During the Olympic Torch Relay torchbearers pass the Olympic flame from Ancient Olympia, Greece, to the stadium of the city hosting the Opening Ceremony of the Games. For the 2004 Games the Olympic Torch Relay travelled across all five continents.

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 torch bearer to torch bearer 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. On aeroplanes, where open flames are not allowed, the flame is typically stored in an enclosed lamp. The last torchbearer lights the Olympic Flame in the stadium of the city hosting the game. This event marks the official start of the Olympics.

As part of the top-sporting event in the world, the Torch Relay is not a race with a single victor, but a path that embraces the world, celebrating humanity, and the universal message of Olympism. The Olympic flame is the primary symbol of the Olympic ideal, noble competition, friendship and peaceful coexistence.

Check that you understand what these words mean in this document  Parabolic mirror: a mirror with a (kind of) curved shape (refers to the geometric term ‘parabola’).
Type of conveyance: an object in which you carry or transfer something from one place to another.
Legs of the relay: the course and distance covered in a segment of the relay.
To embrace: to hug (here used metaphorically).
Primary symbol: the most important symbol.

For further information visit: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/olympics/printouts/Torchsydney.shtml http://www.cityofdayton.org/olympics/oly_facts.asp http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/olympic-torch7.htm
http://www.athens2004.gr/