International Olympic Committee : News

First Torchbearer announced for Sochi 2014 Torch Relay

9/20/2013 8:00:00 AM

The 18-year-old will carry the torch once it has been lit at a special lighting ceremony, which will take place in Ancient Olympia on 29 September. The ceremony will see several ‘priestesses’ perform a traditional celebration at the Temple of Hera in which the torch will be kindled by the light of the sun using a parabolic mirror.

The torch will then begin its journey to the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, which will be held on 7 February.

Antoniou, who hopes to compete at the Winter Games in Sochi, has been skiing since he was just four years old when he was encouraged to take up the sport by his parents, who are both physical education professors.

He has been a member of the Greek national ski team since 2011 and competed at the FIS World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships in 2012 before representing his country at the 2013 FIS World Alpine Skiing Championships in Schladming, Austria.

Once the Olympic flame reaches Russia on 7 October, the Sochi 2014 Torch Relay will travel approximately 65,000km around the country, making it the longest Torch Relay in Olympic Winter Games history, as it visits more than 2,900 towns and settlements, carried by more than 14,000 bearers.

"The Olympic Torch Relay is one of the most important and magical Olympic occasions,” explains Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014. “It continues the build-up of excitement ahead of the Games and, as well as spreading the Olympic values to the whole country. We will be creating, as a nation, an important part of Russian history.”

Sochi 2014 names first Torchbearers for Olympic Torch Relay

7/9/2013 1:30:00 PM

Of the 140,000 candidates – who were submitted to Sochi 2014 for approval – nearly 6,000 torchbearers have now been selected, representing all 83 regions of Russia.

Successful candidates were selected, among other things, for their commitment to a healthy lifestyle, sport and the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

The Sochi 2014 torchbearers chosen so far include athletes, public figures, teachers, doctors, rescue workers and pensioners, among many others.

Those who will have the honour of carrying the Olympic flame during the Torch Relay include the world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, four-time Olympic gymnastics champion Alexei Nemov, three-time Olympic synchronised swimming champion Maria Kiseleva, Paralympic bronze medallist Aleksey Chuvashev, cardiovascular surgeon Maksim Strakhov and popular blogger Sergey Dolya.

The youngest torchbearer chosen so far is only 14 years old, while the oldest, from the Vologda Region, is aged 93. More than 300 of the Relay participants are people with disabilities.

The selected torchbearers also include 136 overseas representatives, including citizens of the United States, Brazil, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, Great Britain and Spain.

Over the next two months, the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee will continue to process and approve the Olympic torchbearer application forms, with the final list of 14,000 people due to be published by the end of September.

Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch goes into space

6/26/2013 2:19:00 PM

The torch is due to arrive at the ISS on the Soyuz TMA-11M manned spaceship in November, and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryazansky and Oleg Kotov have been tasked with the historical assignment. For safety reasons, the torch will not be lit during the spacewalk.

Captain of the spacecraft Mikhail Tyurin, who received the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch at a ceremony earlier in June, will be responsible for passing it over to the cosmonauts who will take the torch on its unique walk.

Following the mission, cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, who is currently based on the ISS, will deliver the special cargo safely back to Earth.

The President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, said of the feat: “Nobody has done this before. The spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts with the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch will be an historic moment in the history of the Olympic Torch Relay. I want to thank the Federal Space Agency for its support which will enable us to take the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay to the final frontier”.

Sochi 2014 Unveils Celebration Cauldron for Olympic Torch Relay

6/13/2013 1:00:00 PM

The lighting of the Celebration Cauldron will be the culmination of each day’s festivities across Russia during the 65,000km Relay, which will be the longest in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.

The concept behind the cauldron, which was developed by a team of renowned Russian designers, echoes that of the Olympic Torch and was designed in an identical style. The colours of the cauldron are bright red and silver: cold 'ice' sparkles in the sunlight and is topped off with a warm, dark scarlet 'flame'.

Each cauldron is 130cm tall, 60cm wide and the base is 110cm wide. The cauldron and its component parts have been put through numerous tests, including in extremely harsh weather conditions.

"The Celebration Cauldron of the Olympic Torch Relay is one of the main features of the Relay,” said Dmitry Chernyshenko, President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee. “Each region will have an opportunity to keep the cauldron. The cauldron will form a part of Games legacy and will remind the people of each region of this historic event – the longest Torch Relay in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.”

The Celebration Cauldron was unveiled as part of the festivities in Moscow’s Red Square marking the national holiday of the Russian Federation - “Russia Day”.

Sochi 2014 torch unveiled

1/14/2013 3:47:00 PM

The torch was presented by Sochi 2014 Ambassadors Tatiana Navka, and Ilya Averbukh at a ceremony in Moscow.

Developed by a creative team, led by Vladimir Pirozhkov and Andrei Vodyanik, the Sochi 2014 torch is chrome with red detail – red being the traditional colour of Russian sport.

Designed in the shape of a feather, the torch is also reminiscent of the Firebird, or Phoenix – the legendary bird that rose from the ashes and which features prominently in Russian folklore as a symbol of good fortune and happiness.

The torch has been designed with comfort and practicality in mind, with its component parts undergoing rigorous stress testing, and the designers paying particular attention to its flame-lighting system. The torch’s construction ensures that the flame burns reliably in difficult conditions, such as strong winds, heavy frosts and other extreme winter weather conditions.

The torch weighs nearly 1.8 kg, is 0.95 m tall, 0.145 m wide (at its widest part), and 0.54 m deep. Its weight and centre of gravity were carefully calculated to ensure that it would be as comfortable as possible for runners to carry during the Torch Relay.

Fourteen thousand Olympic torches will be produced

The President of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, remarked: “The torch is a key symbol of the Relay: the flame it carries will be the brightest dot on the map of Russia for the duration of the Relay. The Sochi 2014 torch combines traditional Russian motifs with the very latest technical know-how in the field of design. The elegant, extraordinary and radiant Sochi 2014 torch represents Russia's beauty and its multifaceted nature.”

At the presentation ceremony in Moscow, the Organising Committee also unveiled the official uniform for the Olympic Torchbearers who will take part in the Sochi 2014 Relays.

Find out more about the Sochi 2014 Olympic Torch Relay and its Presenting Partners.

Sochi 2014 Torch Relay to be longest in Winter Games history

10/8/2012 2:18:00 PM

Over the course of the 123-day relay, the flame will travel more than 65,000km by foot, car, train, and plane, as well as on a "troika" – a traditional Russian sleigh – with approximately 14,000 torchbearers expected to carry it.

The relay will visit more than 2,900 towns and settlements across all 83 Russian regions – from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok – and will come within an hour of 90% of the country’s population, meaning around 130 million people will be able to join in the celebrations.

The route will begin in Moscow before visiting several important historic, cultural and picturesque areas of Russia, including Yasnaya Polyana, the Russian part of the Curonian Spit, the Avachinskiy Volcanoes and the Kizhi Museum Reserve. The relay will then culminate at the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games on 7 February 2014.

Speaking at the announcement of the route, Sochi 2014 President Dmitry Chernyshenko said: "The Olympic Torch Relay is one of the most important and magical Olympic occasions. It continues the build-up of excitement ahead of the Games and as well as spreading the Olympic values to the whole country, we will be creating, as a nation, an important part of Russian history. I am sure that the Olympic Torch Relay will be welcomed by a wonderful celebration in every city it visits. The Sochi 2014 Relay will bring the entire country together, highlighting the diversity and beauty of Russia, particularly, for the people of Russia themselves. For one day during the Relay, each town or settlement that the Olympic flame visits will become the centre of attention and it will be a unique chance to showcase itself to the whole world".

Olympic flame receives rousing welcome in Greece

5/15/2012 3:00:00 PM

The Olympic flame, which was lit in a traditional ceremony in Ancient Olympia last week, has been welcomed by jubilant scenes across Greece as thousands of fans up and down the country have lined the streets to cheer on the torchbearers.

The eight-day Greek leg of the relay reached its half-way point on Sunday, travelling from the western city of Ioannina to Thessaloniki in the north. The flame received a particularly rousing welcome in the city of Veria, with the involvement of a local children’s choir which sang the Olympic Anthem and the Greek National Anthem.

On Thursday 17 May, the flame will be in Athens, where it will be handed over to the London 2012 Organising Committee in a ceremony held in the Panathenaic stadium. The flame will then be flown to Great Britain, where the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay will start its journey around the host nation on 19 May.

Find out more about the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Presenting Partners.