The first modern Olympic torch relay took place in 1936, starting in Olympia, Greece and ending in Berlin, Germany, for the 1936 Summer Olympic Games.

Quick facts

  • Where it started: Olympia, Greece, the site of the ancient Olympic Games.
  • Where it finished: Berlin Olympic Stadium, Germany.
  • When it ran: The flame was lit in Olympia on 20 July 1936 and arrived to light the cauldron at the Berlin Games’ opening ceremony on 1 August 1936.
  • Scale of the relay: Around 3,000 runners from seven countries carried the flame from Greece to Germany.

A bit of story

The idea for this first torch relay was proposed by Carl Diem, Secretary General of the Berlin 1936 Organising Committee, who wanted to symbolically link the modern Games to their ancient Greek roots. The flame was kindled in Olympia and then carried on foot through Greece and across southeastern and central Europe before reaching Berlin.

The relay passed through locations such as Athens, Delphi, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade, Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Dresden, before the final runner entered the Berlin Olympic Stadium to light the cauldron. This 1936 event established the torch relay as a recurring Olympic tradition, later adopted and adapted by subsequent Summer and Winter Games.

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