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, 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.
Summer Olympic Games
Site of the Olympic Games | Days | Total length | Total number of torchbearers | Route |
Berlin 1936 | 8 | 3,422 | 3,422 | Olympia – Athens – Thessaloniki – Sofia – Belgrade – Budapest – Vienna – Prague – Dresden – Berlin Two secondary relays carried the flame from Olympic Stadium in Berlin to the off-site aquatic venues: Grunau, and Kiel. 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 Bari – Milan – Lausanne – Geneva – Besançon – Metz – Luxembourg – Brussels – Lille – Calais – Dover – London 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 Aalborg - Odense - Copenhagen Malmö - Gothenburg - Stockholm - Tornio - Oulu - Helsinki. A second flame was lit in Pallastunturi and joined the main one in Tornio |
Melbourne 1956 | 21 | 20,470 | 3,118 | Olympia - Athens Darwin - Brisbane - Sydney - Canberra - Melbourne |
Stockholm 1956 | 9 | 1,000 | 490 | Olympia - Athens Copenhagen Malmö - Stockholm |
Rome 1960 | 14 | 2,750 | 1,529 | Olympia - Athens Syracuse - Catania - Messina - Reggio Calabria - Naples - Rome |
Tokyo 1964 | 51 | 20,065 | 870 | Olympia - Athens Istanbul - Beirut - Tehran - Lahore - New Delhi - Rangoon - Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Manila - Hong Kong - Taipei - Okinawa - Tokyo |
Mexico City 1968 | 51 | 13,620 | 2,778 | Olympia - Athens Genoa Barcelona - Madrid - Seville - Palos Las Palmas - San Salvador Island - Veracruz - Mexico City |
Munich 1972 | 30 | 5,532 | 6,000 | Olympia - Athens - Thessaloniki - Istanbul - Varna - Bucharest - Timișoara - Belgrade - Budapest - Vienna - Linz - Salzburg - Innsbruck - Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Munich |
Montreal 1976 | 5 | 775 | 1,214 | Olympia - Athens Ottawa - Montreal |
Moscow 1980 | 31 | 4,915 | 5,000 | Olympia - Athens - Thessaloniki - Sofia - Bucharest - Kishinev - Vinnytsia - Kiev - Tula - Moscow |
Los Angeles 1984 | 83 | 15,000 | 3,636 | Olympia - Athens New York – Boston – Philadelphia – Washington – Detroit – Chicago – Indianapolis – Atlanta – St. Louis – Dallas – Denver – Salt Lake City – Seattle – San Francisco – San Diego - Los Angeles |
Seoul 1988 | 26 | 15,250 | 1,467 | Olympia - Athens Jeju - Busan - Seoul |
Barcelona 1992 | 51 | 6,307 | 10,448 | Olympia - Athens Empúries - Bilbao - A Coruña - Madrid - Seville Las Palmas - Málaga - Valencia Palma de Mallorca – Barcelona |
Atlanta 1996 | 112 | 29,016 | 13,267 | Olympia - Athens Los Angeles – Las Vegas – San Francisco – Seattle – Salt Lake City – Denver – Dallas – St. Louis – Minneapolis – Chicago – Detroit - Boston – New York – Philadelphia – Washington – Miami – Birmingham - Atlanta |
Sydney 2000 | 127 | 27,000 | 13,300 | Olympia - Athens Guam - Palau - Federated States of Micronesia - Nauru - Solomon Islands -Papua New Guinea - Vanuatu - Samoa - American Samoa - Cook Islands - Tonga - Queenstown - Christchurch - Wellington - Rotorua - Auckland - Uluru - Brisbane - Darwin - Perth - Adelaide - Melbourne - Canberra - Sydney |
Athens 2004 | 142 | 86,000 | 11,360 | Olympia - Marathonas - Athens Sydney - Melbourne - Tokyo - Seoul - Beijing - Delhi - Cairo - Cape Town - Rio de Janeiro - Mexico City - Los Angeles - St. Louis - Atlanta - New York - Montreal - Antwerp - Brussels - Amsterdam - Lausanne - Geneva - Paris - London - Madrid - Barcelona - Rome - Munich - Berlin - Stockholm - Helsinki - Moscow - Kiev - Istanbul - Sofia - Nicosia - Iraklion - Thessaloniki - Patras - Athens |
Beijing 2008 | 130 | 137,000 | 21,880 | Olympia - Athens - Beijing - Almaty - Istanbul - Saint Petersburg - London – Paris – San Francisco – Buenos Aires – Dar es Salaam – Muscat – Islamabad – New Delhi – Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur – Jakarta – Canberra – Nagano – Seoul – Pyongyang – Ho Chi Minh City – Hong Kong – Macau – Sanya - Wuzhishan - Wanning - Haikou ' – Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Huizhou - Shantou ' – Fuzhou - Quanzhou - Xiamen - Longyan ' – Ruijin - Jinggangshan - Nanchang ' – Wenzhou - Shaoxing - Hangzhou - Ningbo - Jiaxing ' – Shanghai – Suzhou - Nantong - Taizhou - Yangzhou - Nanjing ' – Hefei - Huainan - Wuhu - Jixi - Huangshan ' – Wuhan - Yichang - Jingzhou ' – Yueyang - Changsha - Shaoshan ' – Guilin - Nanning - Baise ' – Kunming - Lijiang - Shangri-La ' – Guiyang - Kaili - Zunyi ' – Chongqing – Ürümqi - Kashgar - Shihezi - Changji ' – Lhasa ' – Golmud - Qinghai Lake - Xining ' – Yuncheng - Pingyao - Taiyuan - Datong ' – Jiuquan – Zhongwei - Wuzhong - Yinchuan ' – Yan'an - Yangling - Xianyang - Xi'an ' – Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Lanzhou ' – Hohhot - Ordos - Baotou - Chifeng ' – Harbin - Daqing - Qiqihar ' – Changchun - Songyuan - Jilin - Yanji ' – Shenyang - Anshan - Dalian ' –Qingdao - Linyi - Qufu - Tai'an - Jinan ' – Zhengzhou - Kaifeng - Luoyang - Anyang ' – Shijiazhuang - Qinhuangdao - Tangshan ' – Tianjin – Guang'an - Leshan - Chengdu ' – Beijing Sichuan route postponed to the end due to earthquake. |
London 2012 | 70 | 12,800 | 8,000 | Olympia - Athens - Land's End - Plymouth - Exeter - Taunton - Bristol - Cheltenham - Worcester - Malvern ' - Cardiff - Swansea - Aberystwyth - Bangor ' - Chester - Stoke-on-Trent - Bolton - Liverpool ' - Douglas ' - Portrush - Derry - Newry ' - Dublin - Belfast ' - Glasgow - Inverness - Kirkwall - Lerwick - Stornoway - Aberdeen - Dundee - Edinburgh ' - 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 ' - Saint Peter Port ' - Saint Helier ' - Portsmouth - Brighton and Hove - Brighton - Hastings - Dover - Maidstone - Guildford - London ' |
Rio de Janeiro 2016 | 106 | 20,000 | 12,000 | Olympia - Athens - Lausanne - Geneva - Brasilia ' - Goiânia ' - Belo Horizonte ' - Vitória ' - Salvador ' - Aracaju ' - Maceió ' - Recife ' - Joao Pessoa ' - Natal ' - Fernando de Noronha - Fortaleza ' - Teresina ' - Palmas ' - São Luís ' - Belém ' - Macapá ' - Boa Vista ' - Manaus ' - Rio Branco ' - Porto Velho ' - Cuiabá ' - Campo Grande '- Porto Alegre ' - Florianópolis ' - Curitiba ' - São Paulo ' - Rio de Janeiro |
Tokyo 2020 | 111 | - | - | Olympia - Athens - Fukushima - Utsunomiya - Maebashi - Nagano - Gifu - Tokyo 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 – Paris |
Los Angeles 2028 | - | - | - | Olympia – Los Angeles |
Winter Olympic Games
Site of the Olympic Games | Days | Total length | Total number of torchbearers | Route |
Oslo 1952 | 2 | 225 | 94 | Morgedal – Oslo |
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 | 5 | Rome - Venice – Cortina d'Ampezzo | ||
Squaw Valley 1960 | 19 | 960 | 700 | Morgedal – Oslo - Los Angeles – Fresno – Squaw Valley |
Innsbruck 1964 | 8 | Olympia – Athens Vienna – Innsbruck | ||
Grenoble 1968 | 50 | 7,222 | 5,000 | Olympia – Athens Paris – Strasbourg – Lyon – Bordeaux – Toulouse – Marseille – Nice – Chamonix – Grenoble |
Sapporo 1972 | 38 | 18,741 | 16,300 | Olympia – Athens Okinawa Tokyo – Sapporo |
Innsbruck 1976 | 6 | 1,618 | Olympia – Athens Vienna Linz – Salzburg – Innsbruck Graz – Klagenfurt – Innsbruck | |
Lake Placid 1980 | 15 | 12,824 | 52 | Olympia – Athens Shannon Langley Air Force Base, Hampton – Washington – Baltimore – Philadelphia – New York – Albany – Lake Placid |
Sarajevo 1984 | 11 | 5,289 | 1,600 | Olympia – Athens Dubrovnik Split – Ljubljana – Zagreb - Sarajevo Skopje – Novi Sad – Belgrade – Sarajevo |
Calgary 1988 | 95 | 18,000 | 6,250 | Olympia – Athens St. John’s, Newfoundland – Québec City – Montreal – Ottawa – Toronto – Winnipeg – Inuvik – Vancouver – Edmonton – Calgary |
Albertville 1992 | 58 | 5,500 | 5,500 | Olympia – Athens Paris – Nantes – Le Havre – Lille – Strasbourg – Limoges – Bordeaux – Toulouse – Ajaccio – Nice – Marseille – Lyon – Grenoble – Albertville |
Lillehammer 1994 | 82 | 12,000 | 7,000 | Olympia – Athens – Copenhagen – Stockholm – Oslo – Lillehammer ' |
Nagano 1998 | 51 | 3,486 | 6,901 | Olympia – Athens Tokyo Hokkaidō – Chiba – Tokyo – Nagano Okinawa – Hiroshima – Kyoto – Nagano Kagoshima – Osaka – Shizuoka – Nagano |
Salt Lake City 2002 | 85 | 21,275 | 12,012 | Olympia – Athens Atlanta – Charleston, South Carolina - Jacksonville, Florida - St. Augustine, Florida – Orlando, Florida - Miami – Mobile, Alabama – Biloxi, Mississippi – New Orleans - Houston – San Antonio – Austin, Texas - Dallas – Little Rock, Arkansas - Memphis - Nashville, Tennessee – Louisville, Kentucky – Cincinnati– Pittsburgh – Cumberland, Maryland – Washington, D.C. – Baltimore – Philadelphia – New York - Hartford, Connecticut – Providence, Rhode Island - Boston – Burlington, Vermont - Lake Placid – Syracuse - Cleveland - Columbus, Ohio – Chicago – Milwaukee - Detroit – Fort Wayne, Indiana – Indianapolis – Lexington – St. Louis - Kansas City – Omaha – Wichita - Oklahoma City – Amarillo - Albuquerque - Phoenix – Los Angeles – San Francisco – Squaw Valley – Reno – Portland – Seattle – Juneau – Boise – Bozeman – Cheyenne – Denver – Salt Lake City |
Turin 2006 | 75 | 11,300 | 10,000 | Olympia – Athens Rome – Florence – Genoa – Cagliari - Valletta – Palermo – Naples – Bari – Ancona – San Marino – Bologna – Venice – Trieste - Koper - Klagenfurt - Trento – Cortina d'Ampezzo – Milan - Lugano - Bardonecchia – Albertville - Turin |
Vancouver 2010 | 106 | 45,000+ | 12,000+ | Olympia – Athens Victoria, British Columbia – Yukon – Northwest Territories – Alberta – Saskatchewan – Manitoba – Nunavut – Quebec – Newfoundland and Labrador – Nova Scotia – Prince Edward Island – New Brunswick – Quebec – Ontario – Manitoba – Saskatchewan – Alberta – Washington – Vancouver |
Sochi 2014 | 123 | 65,000 | 14,000+ | Olympia – Amaliada - 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 - Moscow - Kolomna - Odintsovo - Arkhangelskoye - Krasnogorsk - Dmitrov - Saint Petersburg – Kaliningrad – Murmansk – Arkhangelsk – Yakutsk – Vladivostok – Irkutsk – Novosibirsk – Kazan – Nizhny Novgorod – Volgograd – Rostov-on-Don – Astrakhan – Grozny – Sochi |
Pyeongchang 2018 | 101 | 2,018 | 7,500 | Olympia – Athens - Incheon – Jeju – Busan – Ulsan – Geoje - Tongyeong - Changwon - Changnyeong - Sacheon ' – Yeosu - Suncheon - Gangjin - Mokpo - Damyang - Gokseong ' – Muju - Jeonju ' – Buyeo ' – Daejeon – Sejong – Osong – Jincheon - Chungju - Danyang ' – Bonghwa - Andong ' – Daegu – Pohang ' – Suwon ' – Seoul – Paju - Yeoncheon ' – Hwacheon - Goseong - Hwacheon - Hwacheon - Hoengseong - Samcheok - Jeongseon - Pyeongchang |
Beijing 2022 | - | - | - | Olympia – Beijing |
Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 | - | - | - | Olympia – Milan |
Youth Summer Olympic Games
Site of the Olympic Games | Days | Total length | Total number of torchbearers | Route |
Singapore 2010 | 22 | 26,700+ | 2,400+ | Olympia – Berlin - Dakar - Mexico City - Auckland - Seoul - Singapore |
Nanjing 2014 | 108 | 104 | Athens - 258 different online locations from the 204 participating NOCs - Nanjing | |
Buenos Aires 2018 | 63 | 14,000 | - | Athens - La Plata ' - Parana ' - Santa Fe ' - Iguazu ' - Corrientes ' - Jujuy ' - Salta ' - Catamarca ' - La Rioja ' - Mendoza ' - San Juan ' - Cordoba ' - Neuquen ' - Bariloche ' - Ushuaia ' - Buenos Aires ' |
Dakar 2022 | - | - | - | Athens - Dakar |
Youth Winter Olympic Games
Site of the Olympic Games | Days | Total length | Total number of torchbearers | Route |
Innsbruck 2012 | 18 | 3,573 | 2,012 | Olympia - Innsbruck - Bregenz - St. Anton am Arlberg - Lienz - Klagenfurt - Semmering - Wien - Graz - Eisenstadt - St. Pölten - Linz - Salzburg - Schladming - Seefeld in Tirol - Kühtai - Kufstein - Innsbruck |
Lillehammer 2016 | 74 | - | - | Athens - Lillehammer - Alta - Oslo - Gjøvik - Otta - Elverum - Trysil - Lillehammer |
Lausanne 2020 | 110 | - | - | Athens - Lausanne - Morges - Nyon – Yverdon-les-Bains - Payerne - Aigle - Ollon - University of Lausanne - Échallens - Château-d'Œx - Prilly - Bourg-en-Lavaux - Lausanne - Geneva - Neuchâtel - Lausanne |
Gangwon 2024 | - | - | - | Athens - Chuncheon |