The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, as a way for Adolf Hitler to highlight the Nazi claim of Aryan connections of Germany to Greece.Bowlby, Chris. "The Olympic torch's shadowy past", BBC News, 2008-03-05. Retrieved on 2009-10-21. It has taken place prior to every Games since.
Although in the past some Olympic organizing committees organized torch relays which encompassed multiple countries, the International Olympic Committee now restricts international relays due to the protests during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay, in which the relay was met with protests at several international sites on its way to Beijing.
Summer Olympic Games
Site of the Olympic Games Days Total length (in km) Total number of torchbearers Route Berlin 1936 8 3,422 3,422 Olympia – Athens – Thessaloniki (Greece) – Sofia (Bulgaria) – Belgrade (Yugoslavia) – Budapest (Hungary) – Vienna (Austria) – Prague (Czechoslovakia) – Dresden – Berlin (Germany) Two secondary relays carried the flame from Olympic Stadium in Berlin to the off-site aquatic venues: Grunau (for the rowing course), and Kiel (yachting). The cauldron in Kiel sat in an old Hanseatic galley in the bay. Kiel would also be the yachting site of the 1972 Munich Olympics. / Cancelled 1940 Games Cancelled 1944 Games London 1948 13 7,870 3,372 Olympia – Corfu (Greece) (by ship) Bari – Milan (Italy) – Lausanne – Geneva (Switzerland) – Besançon – Metz (France) – Luxembourg (Luxembourg) – Brussels (Belgium) – Lille – Calais (France) (by ship)– Dover – London (Great Britain) A second relay carried the flame from Wembley, where the Games were based, to the sailing centre at Torbay, via Slough, Basingstoke, Salisbury, and Exeter. Helsinki 1952 5 3,365 1,416 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Aalborg - Odense - Copenhagen (Denmark) (by ship) Malmö - Gothenburg - Stockholm (Sweden) - Tornio - Oulu - Helsinki (Finland). A second flame was lit in Pallastunturi (Finland) and joined the main one in Tornio Melbourne 1956 21 20,470 3,118 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Darwin - Brisbane - Sydney - Canberra - Melbourne (Australia) Stockholm 1956 (equestrian Games) 9 1,000 490 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Copenhagen (Denmark) (by ship) Malmö - Stockholm (Sweden) Rome 1960 14 2,750 1,529 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by ship) Syracuse - Catania - Messina - Reggio Calabria - Naples - Rome (Italy) Tokyo 1964 51 20,065 870 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Istanbul (Turkey) - Beirut (Lebanon) - Tehran (Iran) - Lahore (Pakistan) - New Delhi (India) - Rangoon (Burma) - Bangkok (Thailand) - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) - Manila (Philippines) - Hong Kong (Hong Kong) - Taipei (Taiwan) - Okinawa - Tokyo (Japan, following four different routes) Mexico City 1968 51 13,620 2,778 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by ship) Genoa (Italy) (by ship) Barcelona - Madrid - Seville - Palos (by ship) Las Palmas (Spain) - San Salvador Island (Bahamas) - Veracruz - Mexico City (Mexico) Munich 1972 30 5,532 6,000 Olympia - Athens - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Istanbul (Turkey) - Varna (Bulgaria) - Bucharest - Timișoara (Romania) - Belgrade (Yugoslavia) - Budapest (Hungary) - Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Innsbruck (Austria) - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Munich (West Germany) Montreal 1976 5 775 1,214 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (satellite transmission of an electronic pulse) Ottawa (Ontario) - Montreal (Quebec) (Canada) Moscow 1980 31 4,915 5,000 Olympia - Athens - Thessaloniki (Greece) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Bucharest (Romania) - Kishinev - Vinnytsia - Kiev - Tula - Moscow (USSR) Los Angeles 1984 83 15,000 3,636 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) New York – Boston – Philadelphia – Washington – Detroit – Chicago – Indianapolis – Atlanta – St. Louis – Dallas – Denver – Salt Lake City – Seattle – San Francisco – San Diego - Los Angeles (USA) Seoul 1988 26 15,250 1,467 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Jeju - Busan - Seoul (South Korea) Barcelona 1992 51 6,307 10,448 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by ship) Empúries - Bilbao - A Coruña - Madrid - Seville (by airplane) Las Palmas - Málaga - Valencia (by ship) Palma de Mallorca – Barcelona (Spain) Atlanta 1996 112 29,016 13,267 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Los Angeles (California) – Las Vegas (Nevada) – San Francisco (California) – Seattle (Washington) – Salt Lake City (Utah) – Denver (Colorado) – Dallas (Texas) – St. Louis (Missouri) – Minneapolis (Minnesota) – Chicago (Illinois) – Detroit (Michigan) - Boston (Massachusetts) – New York (New York) – Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) – Washington – Miami (Florida) – Birmingham (Alabama) - Atlanta (Georgia) (USA) Sydney 2000 127 27,000 13,300 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Guam - Palau - Federated States of Micronesia - Nauru - Solomon Islands - Papua New Guinea - Vanuatu - Samoa - American Samoa - Cook Islands - Tonga - Queenstown - Christchurch - Wellington - Rotorua - Auckland (New Zealand) - Uluru (Northern Territory) - Brisbane (Queensland) - Darwin (Northern Territory) - Perth (Western Australia) - Adelaide (South Australia) - Melbourne (Victoria) - Canberra (Capital Territory) - Sydney (New South Wales) (Australia) Athens 2004 142 86,000 11,360 Olympia - Marathonas - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) Sydney - Melbourne (Australia) - Tokyo (Japan) - Seoul (South Korea) - Beijing (People's Republic of China) - Delhi (India) - Cairo (Egypt) - Cape Town (South Africa) - Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - Mexico City (Mexico) - Los Angeles - St. Louis - Atlanta - New York (USA) - Montreal (Canada) - Antwerp - Brussels (Belgium) - Amsterdam (Netherlands) - Lausanne - Geneva (Switzerland) - Paris (France) - London (Great Britain) - Madrid - Barcelona (Spain) - Rome (Italy) - Munich - Berlin (Germany) - Stockholm (Sweden) - Helsinki (Finland) - Moscow (Russia) - Kyiv (Ukraine) - Istanbul (Turkey) - Sofia (Bulgaria) - Nicosia (Cyprus) - Iraklion - Thessaloniki - Patras - Athens (Greece) Beijing 2008 130 137,000 21,880 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) - Beijing (People's Republic of China) (by airplane) - Almaty (Kazakhstan) (by airplane) - Istanbul (Turkey) (by airplane) - Saint Petersburg (Russia) (by airplane) - London (Great Britain) (by airplane) – Paris (France) (by airplane) – San Francisco (USA) (by airplane) – Buenos Aires (Argentina) (by airplane) – Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) (by airplane) – Muscat (Oman) (by airplane) – Islamabad (Pakistan) (by airplane) – New Delhi (India) (by airplane) – Bangkok (Thailand) (by airplane) – Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) (by airplane) – Jakarta (Indonesia) (by airplane) – Canberra (Australia) (by airplane) – Nagano (Japan) (by airplane) – Seoul (South Korea) (by airplane) – Pyongyang (North Korea) (by airplane) – Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) (by airplane) – Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China) (by ship) – Macau (Macau, China) (by airplane) – Sanya - Wuzhishan - Wanning - Haikou (Hainan) (by airplane) – Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Huizhou - Shantou (Guangdong) (by airplane) – Fuzhou - Quanzhou - Xiamen - Longyan (Fujian) (by airplane) – Ruijin - Jinggangshan - Nanchang (Jiangxi) (by airplane) – Wenzhou - Shaoxing - Hangzhou - Ningbo - Jiaxing (Zhejiang) (by airplane) – Shanghai (by airplane) – Suzhou - Nantong - Taizhou - Yangzhou - Nanjing (Jiangsu) (by airplane) – Hefei - Huainan - Wuhu - Jixi - Huangshan (Anhui) (by airplane) – Wuhan - Yichang - Jingzhou (Hubei) (by airplane) – Yueyang - Changsha - Shaoshan (Hunan) (by airplane) – Guilin - Nanning - Baise (Guangxi) (by airplane) – Kunming - Lijiang - Shangri-La (Yunnan) (by airplane) – Guiyang - Kaili - Zunyi (Guizhou) (by airplane) – Chongqing (by airplane) – Ürümqi - Kashgar - Shihezi - Changji (Xinjiang) (by airplane) – Lhasa (Tibet) (by airplane) – Golmud - Qinghai Lake - Xining (Qinghai) (by airplane) – Yuncheng - Pingyao - Taiyuan - Datong (Shanxi) (by airplane) – Jiuquan (by airplane) – Zhongwei - Wuzhong - Yinchuan (Ningxia) (by airplane) – Yan'an - Yangling - Xianyang - Xi'an (Shaanxi) (by airplane) – Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Lanzhou (Gansu) (by airplane) – Hohhot - Ordos - Baotou - Chifeng (Inner Mongolia) (by airplane) – Harbin - Daqing - Qiqihar (Heilongjiang) (by airplane) – Changchun - Songyuan - Jilin - Yanji (Jilin) (by airplane) – Shenyang - Anshan - Dalian (Liaoning) (by airplane) –Qingdao - Linyi - Qufu - Tai'an - Jinan (Shandong) (by airplane) – Zhengzhou - Kaifeng - Luoyang - Anyang (Henan) (by airplane) – Shijiazhuang - Qinhuangdao - Tangshan (Hebei) (by airplane) – Tianjin (by airplane) – Guang'an - Leshan - Chengdu (Sichuan) (by airplane) – Beijing (People's Republic of China) Sichuan route postponed to the end due to earthquake. London 2012 70 12,800 8,000 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by aeroplane) - Land's End - Plymouth - Exeter - Taunton - Bristol - Cheltenham - Worcester - Malvern (England) (by train) - Cardiff - Swansea - Aberystwyth - Bangor (Wales) (by train) - Chester - Stoke-on-Trent - Bolton - Liverpool (England) (by ship) - Douglas (Isle of Man) (by ship) - Portrush - Derry - Newry (Northern Ireland) (by airplane) - Dublin (Republic of Ireland) (by airplane) - Belfast (Northern Ireland) (by airplane) - Glasgow - Inverness - Kirkwall - Lerwick - Stornoway - Aberdeen - Dundee - Edinburgh (Scotland) (by train) - Alnwick - Newcastle - Durham - Middlesbrough - Hull - York - Carlisle - Bowness-on-Windermere - Blackpool - Manchester - Leeds - Sheffield - Cleethorpes - Lincoln - Nottingham - Derby - Birmingham - Coventry - Leicester - Peterborough - Norwich - Ipswich - Chelmsford - Cambridge - Luton - Oxford - Reading - Basingstoke - Winchester - Salisbury - Weymouth and Portland - Bournemouth - Southampton (England) (by ship) - Saint Peter Port (Guernsey) (by ship) - Saint Helier (Jersey) (by ship) - Portsmouth - Brighton and Hove - Brighton - Hastings - Dover - Maidstone - Guildford - London (England) (Great Britain) Rio de Janeiro 2016 106 20,000 12,000 Olympia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) - Lausanne - Geneva (Switzerland) (by airplane) - Brasília (Federal District) - Goiânia (Goiás) - Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) - Vitória (Espírito Santo) - Salvador (Bahia) - Aracaju (Sergipe) - Maceió (Alagoas) - Recife (Pernambuco) - João Pessoa (Paraíba) - Natal (Rio Grande do Norte) - Fernando de Noronha - Fortaleza (Ceará) - Teresina (Piauí) - Palmas (Tocantins) - São Luís (Maranhão) - Belém (Para) - Macapá (Amapá) - Boa Vista (Roraima) - Manaus (Amazonas) - Rio Branco (Acre) - Porto Velho (Rondônia) - Cuiabá (Mato Grosso) - Campo Grande (Mato Grosso do Sul) - Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul) - Florianópolis (Santa Catarina) - Curitiba (Paraná) - São Paulo (São Paulo) - Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro) (Brazil) Tokyo 2020 111 20,000 - Olympia (Greece) - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) - Fukushima (Fukushima) - Utsunomiya (Tochigi) - Maebashi (Gunma) - Nagano (Nagano) - Gifu (Gifu) - Nagoya (Aichi) – Nara (Nara) – Osaka (Osaka) – Kōchi (Kōchi) – Matsuyama (Ehime) – Kagoshima (Kagoshima) – Naha (Okinawa) – Nagasaki (Nagasaki) – Fukuoka (Fukuoka) – Hiroshima (Hiroshima) – Kobe (Hyōgo) – Kyoto (Kyoto) – Fukui (Fukui) – Kanazawa (Ishikawa) – Yamagata (Yamagata) – Akita (Akita) – Sapporo (Hokkaido) – Morioka (Iwate) – Sendai (Miyagi) – Shizuoka (Shizuoka) – Yokohama (Kanagawa) – Chiba (Chiba) – Saitama (Saitama) – Tokyo (Japan)