Photos: Nearly 100 years of lighting the Olympic flame
The Olympic flame has played a big part in the Games for nearly a century. A look at the lighting of the flame over the past 100 years:
1932: Los Angeles
Doves are released during the opening ceremony for the Tenth Olympiad in Los Angeles on July 30, 1932. The athletes of various countries stand on the field.
1936: Berlin
The Olympic torch in Lustgarten, Berlin, is lit Aug. 1, 1936, where will be guarded by members of the Hitler Youth until it is brought to the Olympic stadium for the opening of the games in the afternoon. The torch relay was not always a fixture of the modern Olympics, which began in 1896. The relay tradition began with Adolph Hitler's 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
1948: London
British athlete John Mark runs with the Olympic flame, left, and on right, lights the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the XIV Olympiad, in Wembley Stadium, London on July 29, 1948.
1952: Helsinki
Runner Paavo Nurmi, of Finland, lights the Olympic flame from the Olympic torch, during July 19, 1952, opening ceremony in Helsinki, Finland.
1956: Melbourne
Australian athlete Ron Clark, bottom left, plunges the Olympic torch into the bronze bowl, to light the Olympic flame, which will burn throughout the XVI Olympic Games, in Melbourne, Australia, Nov. 22, 1956.
1960: Rome
Italian student Giancarlo Peris holds the torch after lighting the Olympic flame in the tall tripod brazier on the perimeter of the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Aug. 25, 1960, at the formal opening of the XVII modern Olympiad.
1964: Tokyo
Japanese runner Yoshinori Sakai runs with the Olympic torch to light the cauldron, right, during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Oct. 10, 1964.
1968: Mexico City
The Olympic Torch burns during the opening day ceremony in Mexico City, Oct. 12, 1968.
1972: Munich
Runner Guenther Zahn stands near the Olympic flame he lit above the Olympic Stadium on Aug. 26, 1972, during the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
1976: Montreal
Gymnastics athlete Sandra Henderson, left, and track and field athlete Stéphane Préfontaine Lighting of the Olympic Flame during the 1976 Montreal Olympics, July 17, 1976.
1980: Moscow
Soviet athlete Sergei Belov runs with the Olympic flame past the Olympic team from Afghanistan during opening ceremonies of the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow on Saturday, July 20, 1980. A number of teams boycotted the ceremony to protest Soviet intervention into Afghanistan.
1984: Los Angeles
Rafer Johnson, 1960 gold medalist for the decathlon, lights the Olympic torch during the Opening Ceremonies of the 23rd Olympiad in Los Angeles in 1984.
1988: Seoul
Pigeons fly around as the Olympic torch is lit during opening ceremonies in Seoul Sept. 17, 1988.
1992: Barcelona
An arrow carrying the Olympic flame leaves the bow of Antonio Rebollo to light the Olympic Torch and open the XXV Olympic in Barcelona on Saturday night, July 25, 1992.
1996: Atlanta
Boxing legend Muhammed Ali lights the Olympic flame, as American swimmer Janet Evans looks on during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games opening ceremony in Atlanta, July 19, 1996.
2000: Sydney
Australian runner Cathy Freeman stands under the Olympic torch after lighting the flame at the opening ceremonies for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sept. 15, 2000.
2004: Athens
The Olympic cauldron rises in this multiple exposure photo, left, after Nikolas Kaklamanakis, right, lit it during the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Friday, Aug. 13, 2004. The photo at left is a single frame time exposure interrupted at six intervals while the Olympic cauldron rises after being lit.
2008: Beijing
Li Ning lights the Olympic Torch during the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Friday, Aug. 8, 2008.
2012: London
The Olympic cauldron is lit during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 28, 2012, in London.
2016: Rio de Janeiro
Jorge Alberto Oliveira Gomes lights the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016.
2021: Tokyo
The torch is prepared to be lit during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay Grand Start in Naraha, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Thursday, March 25, 2021. The torch relay for the postponed Tokyo Olympics began its 121-day journey across Japan on Thursday and is headed toward the opening ceremony in Tokyo on July 23.Â
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