2000 Summer Olympics torch relay in 1936. The Flame is initiated by using a parabolic mirror that concentrates the sun's rays. However, due to some cloud cover on the day of the ceremony, there was insufficient sunlight to create the required level of heat. A backup, lit on the previous day during rehearsals, was used instead. The remainder of the ceremony could then take place. The relay always begins in Greece and travels from Olympia to Athens and the Panathenaic Stadium. The Hellenic Olympic Committee arranged for the torch to be taken to several Greek islands, a first in the history of Olympic relays. The
London 2012 Olympic Torch gripped, as does its textured surface, which is perforated with 8,000 holes. The holes represent the 8,000 runners in the London 2012 Torch Relay and the relay distance. Functionally, they reduce the torch's overall weight and ensure that heat from its flame is dissipated without conducting down the handle. They create a level of transparency in the torch, where one can see through to the flame and burner mechanism, and they also allow a 'fuller' flame that escapes from all sides of the Torch, rather than solely from the top, where the flame can tend to be flattened when a