This winter, the Olympic flame will ignite the hearts of Canadians as it travels by land, air and water during a 114-day journey from Olympia, Greece. Along the way it will pass through more than 1,000 communities across our country before it arrives in Vancouver for the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Symbol
The Olympic flame is an iconic emblem of the Games, dating back to the ancient iterations of the sporting competition. In Olympia, Greece, a flame was ignited by the sun at the start of the Olympic Games and kept burning until all of the winners had been declared. Symbolizing the principles of peace, brotherhood and friendship, the flame also represents striving for perfection and the struggle for victory, as well as the light of knowledge, life and spirit handed down from generation to generation.

The History
The Olympic flame made its first appearance in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games, thanks to Jan Wils, the designer of the Olympic stadium. Then, in 1936, Carl Diem, the chairman of the organizing committee for that year’s Summer Olympic Games in Berlin, brought what has now become the Olympic Torch Relay into practice. The Olympic torch is lit at the ancient grounds of Olympia by women wearing ceremonial robes who use a curved mirror and the sun to light the flame. It is then passed from person to person all the way to the host city’s Olympic stadium and is kept alight until the Games have concluded.

The Journey
Although much of the flame’s trek is done on foot, carried along from runner to runner, logistics and location have often required alternate travel arrangements. For the 1948 summer Olympics in London, England, the torch travelled by boat across the English Channel. In 1952, for the summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, it was first transported by plane, which currently involves covering the flame with a security lamp. For the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, the flame was transformed into an electronic pulse and then carried by satellite from Athens to Canada, where a laser beam was used to re-light the fire. The torch has also been carried on horseback, on a camel, in a Native American canoe and on a Concorde jet. At night, the flame is kept in a special cauldron.

For the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, the flame was lit in Olympia on October 22, 2009 and the Canadian portion of the Olympic Torch Relay, which will visit every province and territory, began on October 30 in Victoria, B.C. On December 12, the relay will reach Ottawa and the flame, as well as more than 300,000 dazzling lights, will light up the night as the 25th edition of Christmas Lights Across Canada kicks off with a special ceremony on Parliament Hill.

Click here to follow the flame’s journey across Canada on an interactive map featuring daily coverage, events, profiles and videos.

Did you Know?
The youngest person to light the Olympic flame was Robyn Perry, who at age 12 lit the flame at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games.

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