Images Itinerary Posts

Olympic champions, abseiling, rowing....From the moment it landed to the cauldron lighting, check out the highlights of the first day of the Rio 2016 Olympic torch relay in Brazil.
"I'm used to the 200 metres medley, and now I'm running 200 metres with the torch. Brazilian swimming is setting up for more medals, we're on our way to the top in 2016," says Olympic swimmer Thiago Pereira, torchbearer in Tatuatinga. Pereira is the athlete with the most medals in the history of Pan American Games, is former record holder for the 200m medley and took the silver at the London 2012 Games.
A Message from the Pope

Pope Francis sent a letter to Rodrigo Rollemberg, the Governor of the Federal District of Brazil - where Brasília is located - sending his well wishes for the Olympic Torch relay.

"On the occasion of the arrival of the Olympic torch in Brasília, giving start to the countdown for the Rio 2016 Olympics, I send well wishes that this eloquent symbol, that evokes fraternity between people, can inspire a renewed commitment of all for the construction of a society where peace and solidarity rule, founded on the recognition that we are all members of the human family. God bless each of you"
Gold medallist in the 800m at Los Angeles 1984 after a memorable race, Joaquim Cruz carried the torch through his home town of Taguatinga on Tuesday afternoon. The biggest crowds of the day gave him a rapturous welcome.
Natália Mayara, one of the world's top players of wheelchair tennis, carried the torch in Taguatinga outside Brasília. "I owe everything I have to sports," Natália told the United Nations in Geneva last week. "Sports showed me what I was capable of."
Wheelchair user Mackinley Nobato de Souza carried the Olympic torch in a pool fed by natural spring water, located in one of the city's oldest parks.
Ícaro Pereira swam with the torch in a Brasilía swimming pool. Even though the flame won't go out on contact with water, Pereira said he preferred to make sure the torch stayed dry throughout his swim, accompanied by synchronised swimmers.
Lúcio won the World Cup with Brazil back in 2002. When the torch abseiled into Mané Garrincha Stadium from a helicopter, the former footballer took the chance to go on another lap of honour.
The sychronised swimming team of Brasília's sport department performed at the aquatic centre where diver Hugo Parisi took over the torch.
"As a black Brazilian woman and an athlete, the feeling of representing the Brazilian people on the arrival of the Olympic flame on Brazilian soil is hard to contain," volleyball icon Fabiana Claudino said after taking the torch from the President.
Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima won bronze in the Athens 2004 marathon despite being obstructed by a spectator. As he completed the race in Athens he delighted the crowd by pretending to fly. He repeated the move at the Cathedral in Brasília on Tuesday.
World surfing champion Gabriel Medina handed over the torch to Paula Pequeno, double Olympic champion in volleyball. Brazil's women will be going for a hat-trick of golds at Rio 2016.
Syrian refugee Hanan Khaled Daqqah passes the flame to Adriana Araújo, the only Brazilian woman to win an Olympic boxing medal. Araújo won bronze in the 60kg category at London 2012.
The 12-year old Syrian girl Hanan Khaled Daqqah escaped with her family from the civil war in Brazil to a refugee camp in Jordan. In 2015, she arrived in Brazil and now lives in São Paulo with her parents.
The Brazilian Airforce was inspired by the spirit of Rio 2016 in the skies above Brasília
Double Olympic volleyball champion Fabiana Claudino received the Olympic Torch from Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff
"We are all Olympic. We are all Brazil." Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil
These are the first Olympic Games in South America. Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman said that Brazil is ready to make history.
Children wait for the Olympic flame in Brasília. The plane carrying the flame arrived in the Brazilian capital early Tuesday morning (3 May).
Vinicius, mascot of the Olympic Games, is already in front of the Palácio do Planalto, waiting for the Olympic Flame, which is already on its way to the President's workplace.
The Olympic flame arrives in Brazil in the hands of Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman
Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, spoke from the cockpit to thank everyone present on the special flight that brought the #OlympicFlame to Brazil.
The Olympic Flame arrives

The Olympic flame has arrived on Brazilian soil. The special flight landed at 7:26 am at Brasília's main airport after being escorted by the Brazilian Air Force.
The #OlympicFlame flies over central Brasília at around 7:15am this Tuesday (3 May), escorted by fighter jets of the Brazilian Air Force.
The Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay will pass through more than 300 towns and cities in every corner of Brazil.
There will be 143 torchbearers in Brasilia, covering about 104 kilometres. They will visit some of the most important monuments of the city - Itamaraty Palace (is the headquarters of the Ministry of External Relations), Memorial JK museum, the Brasilia TV Tower, the Cathedral of Brasilia and the Mané Garrincha Stadium.
A Swimming Flame

Have you ever seen a flame go swimming? A torchbearer is set to swim with the Olympic torch in Brasília.
On the #RoadtoRio: Rio 2016 receives the #OlympicFlame during ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens
The traditional torch lighting ceremony was held at the Temple of Hera, in Olympia, Greece. The ancient ritual marked the beginning of the torch relay.
When did the Olympic flame start? How is the flame lit? How does the flame fly in a plane? What if it goes out? Actress Elea Mercurio answers these and other questions about the torch.
The route of the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay starts in Brasília. Located in the heart of Brazil's central plateau, and designed by urban planner Lúcio Costa and architect Oscar Niemeyer, the capital of Brazil was inaugurated in 1960. From here, the torch will begin a journey across the Centre-West of the country.
American magazine Wired listed the Rio 2016 Olympic torch among the 20 most intelligent designs launched in 2015. Created by Chelles and Hayashi, the torch "is an example of how an object can reflect the dynamic culture of a country" according to Wired.
The power of a symbol: the Olympic Torch Relay represents the unity of peoples and the respect for differences. In the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, 10,500 athletes from 206 countries will meet in Rio de Janeiro from 5 to 21 August.