CEREMONIALS
A relay precedes the arrival of the flame at its final destination: the Olympic stadium in the host
city of the Olympic Games. The Organising committee of the Olympic Games is responsible
for bringing the Olympic flame to the Olympic stadium (Olympic Charter, Rule 54). When the
flame finally arrives at its destination, the final torchbearer(s) run into the stadium
to light the Olympic cauldron with the flame, which remains lit for the duration of the Games
and is extinguished only at the Closing Ceremony of the Games.
Like the messengers who proclaimed the sacred Olympic truce, the runners who carry the
Olympic flame carry a message of peace on their journey.
