Ancient tradition and Brazilian flair to meet at lighting of Rio 2016 Olympic Torch
Evocative ceremony will use midday sun to light Olympic flame at Temple of Hera at ancient Olympia on Thursday
A dress rehearsal for the lighting ceremony took place on Wednesday (HOC)
With just over 100 days to go until the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, a global audience will tune in this Thursday (21 April) for the historic Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Torch in Greece. In accordance with tradition, the flame will be lit by the light of the sun in the Temple of Hera in Olympia, site of the ancient Olympic Games. The ceremony starts at midday (Greek time).
“It will be an emotional meeting of the cultures of Greece and Brazil. Brazil will present the gods of Greece with an offering of traditional festival music”
Carla Camurati, culture director of Rio 2016
What happens on Thursday?
Thursday’s ceremony marks the official start of the Olympic Torch Relay. After a six-day tour of Greece and a visit to Switzerland (see details below), the torch will embark on a 90-day journey across Brazil. The relay ends on 5 August, when the torch will be used to light the Olympic cauldron in the Maracanã Stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
The Olympic Flame is lit using a special parabolic mirror in the Temple of Hera (Photo: HOC)
A symbol of peace
The ceremony connects the Olympic Games of Ancient Greece, first held in Olympia in 776 BC, with the modern Games that started in 1896 and which this year will be held for the first time in South America. In Ancient Greece, the flame would be carried through Greek towns and cities heralding an Olympic truce for the course of the Games. All wars had to be halted so that spectators and athletes could attend the Games. In modern times, the Olympic flame is a powerful symbol of peace, union and friendship between peoples.
The Ancient Greeks considered fire to be a divine element. They maintained perpetual fires in front of their principal temples, such as the sanctuary of Olympia. The flame was lit using the rays of the sun using a 'skaphia,' a type of mirror. This method ensured the purity of the flames as they burned permanently on the altars of the main temples at Olympia.
In modern times, the lighting of the flame and the Olympic Torch Relay connect the Games of our era with the ceremonies of our ancestors nearly 3,000 years ago. The traditional method used for lighting the flame keeps the connection alive.
Follow the Lighting Ceremony live on the Rio 2016 Twitter feed
An ancient ceremony
Greek actress Katerina Lehou will light the flame using a parabolic mirror. Lehou will be dressed as a high priestess of the goddess Hera, wearing a costume created by designer Eleni Kyriacou, a pupil of Alexander McQueen.
Greek gymnast Eleftherios Petrounias, world champion on the rings, will be the first athlete to hold the torch. He will then pass it on to Giovane Gávio, Brazil’s double Olympic volleyball champion.
Volleyball legend Giovane Gávio will be the first Brazilian to carry the torch for Rio 2016 (Photo: MPIX/Bradesco/Leandra Benjamin)
Representing Brazil
Former volleyball star Giovane Gávio will be the first Brazilian athlete to carry the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch after the lighting of the flame. Now the volleyball manager for Rio 2016, Gávio participated in the torch relay for Athens 2004, when it travelled through a series of different countries. “It will be very exciting to be a torchbearer in Greece as it is sacred ground for the Olympic Games,” Gávio said.
“I won’t be running, I will be making my 250 metres last as long as possible. I don’t want the magic to be over too soon”
Giovane Gávio
Watch the Lighting Ceremony live on the IOC YouTube channel
Flags of countries participating in the ceremony decorate the streets of Olympia (Photo: AGIF)
80 years on
The first Olympic Torch Relay of modern times took place for the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, 80 years ago.
The timetable for the torch
After the Lighting Ceremony, the torch will embark on a six-day relay across the majority of Greek territory, including the iconic town of Marathon and the islands of Zante and Corfu, covering 2,235km (1,388 miles).
The relay will end in a ceremony next Wednesday (27 April) at the Panathinaiko Stadium in the Greek capital, the venue for the historic Athens 1896 Olympic Games. The Olympic torch will be formally handed over to Brazil. Greek popstar Sakis Rouvas will perform at the ceremony.
After leaving Greece, the torch will go to Geneva, Switzerland, for a ceremony at the United Nations. It will then go on display at the nearby Olympic Museum in Lausanne, home of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A refugee torchbearer
In total, 450 people will carry the torch in the Greek section of the Olympic Torch Relay. One of those will be a so-far unnamed Syrian refugee who has claimed asylum in Greece. At the camp for refugees and migrants in Eleonas, western Athens, the Syrian will bear the torch in the name of all refugees.
Check out the route for the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay:
Touchdown in Brazil
The Rio 2016 Olympic torch relay will begin its tour of Brazil on 3 May in the capital city, Brasília. Some 12,000 torchbearers will participate across the country. The design of the torch is inspired by the geography of Rio de Janeiro. Wired magazine included the torch in its 20 most cleverly designed objects of 2015.
