2008 Summer Olympics torch relay 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China. The relay, also called by the organizers as the "Journey of Harmony", lasted 129 days and carried the torch – the longest distance of any Olympic torch relay since the tradition was started ahead of the 1936 Summer Olympics. After being lit at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece on
2011 Pan American Games torch relay 2011, at the pyramids of Teotihuacan outside Mexico City. The Pan American flame was lit in the Pyramid of the Sun, the spot selected by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO). The relay was organized by the Mexican Olympic Committee and was sponsored by Grupo Omnilife, a nutrition company. The first torch was carried by Pan American Games gold medalist Paola Longoria. The relay began with a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the 2011 Monterrey casino attack. About 3,500 runners carried the torch on the 15,000-kilometer route. The torch arrived in Puerto Vallarta on October 9,