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
2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay Kuan Yew lit the cauldron at Marina Bay. However, the Youth Olympic flame was to last till the closing ceremony of the games. Although the IOC had scrapped any further international legs of the Olympic torch relay due to problems encountered during the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay, the Executive Board approved an exception for Singapore. The plan however was different from the traditional Olympics; the flame was to visit one city from each continent, where community celebrations would take place. The five cities, dubbed the "celebration cities", selected for the torch relay were Berlin, Germany; Dakar, Senegal; Mexico City,