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The first time that a symbolic flame made its appearance in the Summer Olympic Games was for the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.
The main purpose of this fire, placed in a large bowl on top of a slender tower, named “the Marathon Tower”, was to indicate for miles around where in Amsterdam the Olympic Games were being held. This tower was associated with the marathon race and all its elements, including the fire, were an idea of the architect Jan Wils who also had designed the stadium.
The idea for the Olympic flame was derived from ancient Greek ceremonies where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the celebration of the ancient Olympics on the altar of the sanctuary of Hestia. In Ancient Greek mythology, fire had divine connotations and it was thought to have been stolen from the gods by Prometheus. […]
When the idea of a symbolic fire was introduced during the 1928 Summer Olympics, an employee of the Electric Utility of Amsterdam lit the first symbolic flame in the Marathon Tower of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.
The Olympic flame and the Olympic torch relay was first introduced to the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin by Carl Diem.
The first ever torch-lighting ceremony was held in Olympia, Greece on July 20th, 1936. The torches used were made by Krupp, and the mirror used to light the flame was made by Zeiss Optics […]
