List of Olympic torch relays

The Olympic torch relay is the ceremonial relaying of the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the site of an Olympic Games. It was first performed at the 1936 Berlin Games,[1] and 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, China.[2]

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 OlympiaAthensThessaloniki (Greece) – Sofia (Bulgaria) – Belgrade (Yugoslavia) – Budapest (Hungary) – Vienna (Austria) – Prague (Czechoslovakia) – DresdenBerlin (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 OlympiaCorfu (Greece) (by ship) BariMilan (Italy) – LausanneGeneva (Switzerland) – BesançonMetz (France) – Luxembourg (Luxembourg) – Brussels (Belgium) – LilleCalais (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 – BostonPhiladelphiaWashingtonDetroit – Chicago – IndianapolisAtlanta – St. Louis – DallasDenverSalt Lake CitySeattleSan FranciscoSan 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) – WashingtonMiami (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) - Kiev (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 airplane) - 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) - Brasilia (Federal District) - Goiânia (Goias) - Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais) - Vitória (Espirito Santo) - Salvador (Bahia) - Aracaju (Sergipe) - Maceió (Alagoas) - Recife (Pernambuco) - Joao Pessoa (Paraiba) - Natal (Rio Grande do Norte) - Fernando de Noronha - Fortaleza (Ceará) - Teresina (Piaui) - 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 - - Olympia (Greece) - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) - Fukushima (Fukushima) - Utsunomiya (Tochigi) - Maebashi (Gunma) - Nagano (Nagano) - Gifu (Gifu) - Tokyo (Japan)

Irregular period, relay in Greece started on 12 March 2020 in Ancient Olympia, then curtailed in Sparta the next day, and later finished in Athens without spectators on 19 March 2020, the relay went later suspended on 25 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after the Olympics postponed to 2021. Japan relay will start on 25 March 2021 in Naraha and will end on 23 July 2021 during the opening ceremony.

Paris 2024 - - - Olympia (Greece) – Paris (France)
Los Angeles 2028 - - - Olympia (Greece) – Los Angeles (USA)

    Winter Olympic Games

    Site of the Olympic Games Days Total length (in km) Total number of torchbearers Route
    Oslo 1952 2 225 94 MorgedalOslo (Norway)
    Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 5 Rome - VeniceCortina d'Ampezzo (Italy)
    Squaw Valley 1960 19 960 700 MorgedalOslo (Norway) (by airplane) - Los AngelesFresnoSquaw Valley (USA)
    Innsbruck 1964 8 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) ViennaInnsbruck (Austria)
    Grenoble 1968 50 7,222 5,000 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Paris – StrasbourgLyonBordeauxToulouseMarseilleNiceChamonixGrenoble (France)
    Sapporo 1972 38 18,741 16,300 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Okinawa (by airplane) Tokyo – Sapporo (Japan)
    Innsbruck 1976 6 1,618 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Vienna (route nr. 1) LinzSalzburgInnsbruck (route nr. 2) GrazKlagenfurtInnsbruck (Austria)
    Lake Placid 1980 15 12,824 52 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Shannon (Ireland) Langley Air Force Base, HamptonWashingtonBaltimorePhiladelphia – New York – AlbanyLake Placid (USA)
    Sarajevo 1984 11 5,289 1,600 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Dubrovnik (route nr. 1) Split – LjubljanaZagreb - Sarajevo (route nr. 2) SkopjeNovi SadBelgradeSarajevo (Yugoslavia)
    Calgary 1988 95 18,000 6,250 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) St. John’s, Newfoundland – Québec City – MontrealOttawa – Toronto – WinnipegInuvik – Vancouver – EdmontonCalgary (Canada)
    Albertville 1992 58 5,500 5,500 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (on Concorde) Paris – NantesLe HavreLilleStrasbourgLimogesBordeauxToulouseAjaccioNiceMarseilleLyonGrenobleAlbertville (France)
    Lillehammer 1994 82[nb 1] 12,000[nb 1] 7,000[nb 1] OlympiaAthens (Greece) (mainly by airplane: FrankfurtStuttgartKarlsruheDüsseldorfCologneHamburg (Germany) – Copenhagen (Denmark) – Stockholm (Sweden) ) – OsloLillehammer (Norway)
    (National torch relay: MorgedalKristiansandStavangerBergenGullfaks – Bergen – TrondheimTromsøSvalbard – Tromsø – Bodø – Oslo – Lillehammer (Norway) )[nb 1][3][4][5]
    Nagano 1998 51 3,486 6,901 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Tokyo (route nr. 1) Hokkaidō – Chiba – TokyoNagano (route nr. 2) OkinawaHiroshimaKyotoNagano (route nr. 3) KagoshimaOsaka – Shizuoka – Nagano (Japan)
    Salt Lake City 2002 85 21,275 12,012 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) AtlantaCharleston, South Carolina - Jacksonville, Florida - St. Augustine, FloridaOrlando, Florida - MiamiMobile, AlabamaBiloxi, MississippiNew Orleans - HoustonSan AntonioAustin, Texas - DallasLittle Rock, Arkansas - Memphis - Nashville, TennesseeLouisville, KentuckyCincinnatiPittsburghCumberland, Maryland – Washington, D.C. – BaltimorePhiladelphia – New York - Hartford, ConnecticutProvidence, Rhode Island - BostonBurlington, Vermont - Lake PlacidSyracuse - Cleveland - Columbus, Ohio – Chicago – Milwaukee - DetroitFort Wayne, IndianaIndianapolisLexington – St. Louis - Kansas CityOmahaWichita - Oklahoma CityAmarillo - Albuquerque - Phoenix – Los Angeles – San FranciscoSquaw ValleyRenoPortlandSeattleJuneauBoiseBozemanCheyenneDenverSalt Lake City (USA)[6]
    Turin 2006 75 11,300 10,000 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) RomeFlorenceGenoaCagliari - Valletta (Malta) – PalermoNaplesBariAnconaSan Marino (San Marino) – BolognaVeniceTrieste - Koper (Slovenia) - Klagenfurt (Austria) - TrentoCortina d'AmpezzoMilan - Lugano (Switzerland) - BardonecchiaAlbertville (France) - Turin
    Vancouver 2010 106 45,000+ 12,000+ OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) Victoria, British ColumbiaYukonNorthwest TerritoriesAlbertaSaskatchewanManitobaNunavutQuebecNewfoundland and LabradorNova ScotiaPrince Edward IslandNew BrunswickQuebecOntarioManitobaSaskatchewanAlberta (Canada) – Washington (USA) – Vancouver (Canada) [7]
    Sochi 2014 123 65,000 14,000+ OlympiaAmaliada - Elis - Pyrgos - Zacharo - Kalo Nero - Tripoli - Levidi - Lefkasi - Kalavryta - Patras - Rio - Missolonghi - Agrinio - Karpenisi - Lamia - Volos - Larissa - Katerini - Thessaloniki - Giannitsa - Naousa - Edessa - Florina - Kastoria - Grevena - Ioannina - Kalabaka - Trikala - Karditsa - Lamia - Amfissa - Delphi - Arachova - Livadeia - Athens (Greece) (by airplane) - Moscow - Kolomna - Odintsovo - Arkhangelskoye - Krasnogorsk - Dmitrov - Saint PetersburgKaliningradMurmanskArkhangelskYakutskVladivostokIrkutskNovosibirskKazanNizhny NovgorodVolgogradRostov-on-DonAstrakhanGroznySochi (Russia)
    Pyeongchang 2018 101 2,018 7,500 OlympiaAthens (Greece) (by airplane) - Incheon (by airplane) – Jeju (by airplane) – BusanUlsanGeoje - Tongyeong (by ship) - Changwon - Changnyeong - Sacheon (South Gyeongsang)Yeosu - Suncheon - Gangjin (by helicopter) - Mokpo - Damyang - Gokseong (South Jeolla)Muju - Jeonju (North Jeolla)Buyeo (South Chungcheong)DaejeonSejong – Osong – Jincheon - Chungju - Danyang (North Chungcheong)Bonghwa - Andong (North Gyeongsang)DaeguPohang (North Gyeongsang)Suwon (Gyeonggi)SeoulPaju - Yeoncheon (Gyeonggi) (by bike) – Hwacheon (by bike) - Goseong - Hwacheon - Hwacheon - Hoengseong - Samcheok - Jeongseon - Pyeongchang (Gangwon) (South Korea)
    Beijing 2022 - - - Olympia (Greece) – Beijing (People's Republic of China)
    Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 - - - Olympia (Greece) – Milan (Italy)
    1. For the 1994 Lillehammer Games, the flame for the national torch relay was lit at Sondre Norheim's birthplace in Morgedal, where the official 1952 & 1960 flames were lit in the same manner. The original plan to merge it with the official Olympia flame at Oslo was abandoned due to Greek opposition; only the official flame was used in the opening ceremony. All statistics are for the national torch relay only. The Morgedal flame was maintained and later used at the 1994 Winter Paralympics.

    Youth Summer Olympic Games

    Site of the Olympic Games Days Total length (in km) Total number of torchbearers Route
    Singapore 2010 22 26,700+ 2,400+ Olympia (Greece) – Berlin (Germany) - Dakar (Senegal) - Mexico City (Mexico) - Auckland (New Zealand) - Seoul (South Korea) - Singapore
    Nanjing 2014 108 104 Athens (Greece) - 258 different online locations from the 204 participating NOCs - Nanjing (People's Republic of China)
    Buenos Aires 2018 63 14,000 - Athens (Greece) - La Plata (Buenos Aires) - Parana (Entre Rios) - Santa Fe (Santa Fe) - Iguazu (Misiones) - Corrientes (Corrientes) - Jujuy (Jujuy) - Salta (Salta - Tucuman (Tucuman) - Catamarca (Catamarca) - La Rioja (La Rioja) - Mendoza (Mendoza) - San Juan (San Juan) - Cordoba (Cordoba) - Neuquen (Neuquen) - Bariloche (Rio Negro) - Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) - Buenos Aires (Federal Capital) (Argentina)
    Dakar 2022 - - - Athens (Greece) - Dakar (Senegal)

    Youth Winter Olympic Games

    Site of the Olympic Games Days Total length (in km) Total number of torchbearers Route
    Innsbruck 2012 18 3,573 2,012 Olympia (Greece) - Innsbruck - Bregenz - St. Anton am Arlberg - Lienz - Klagenfurt - Semmering - Wien - Graz - Eisenstadt - St. Pölten - Linz - Salzburg - Schladming - Seefeld in Tirol - Kühtai - Kufstein - Innsbruck (Austria)
    Lillehammer 2016 74 - - Athens (Greece) - Lillehammer - Alta - Oslo - Gjøvik - Otta - Elverum - Trysil - Lillehammer (Norway)
    Lausanne 2020 110 - - Athens (Greece) - Lausanne - Morges - NyonYverdon-les-Bains - Payerne - Aigle - Ollon - University of Lausanne - Échallens - Château-d'Œx - Prilly - Bourg-en-Lavaux - Lausanne - Geneva - Neuchâtel - Lausanne (Switzerland)
    Gangwon 2024 - - - Athens (Greece) - Chuncheon (South Korea)

    See also

    References

    1. Bowlby, Chris. "The Olympic torch's shadowy past", BBC News, 2008-03-05. Retrieved on 2009-10-21.
    2. Zinser, Lynn (March 27, 2009). "I.O.C. Bars International Torch Relays". The New York Times. Retrieved August 3, 2012.
    3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2011-07-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-07-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2010-12-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    6. "2002 Olympic Torch Relay Route". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
    7. "Provincial and territorial routes", Vancouver 2010 official site, listing the exact stops on the tour.
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