Olympic Games coined by Coubertin's friend, the Dominican priest Henri Didon OP, for a Paris youth gathering of 1891. Coubertin's Olympic ideals are expressed in the Olympic creed: Months before each Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia in a ceremony that reflects ancient Greek rituals. A female performer, acting as a priestess, ignites a torch by placing it inside a parabolic mirror which focuses the sun's rays; she then lights the torch of the first relay bearer, thus initiating the Olympic torch relay that will carry the flame to the host city's Olympic stadium, where it plays an important role
London 2012 Olympic Torch torchbearer runs. The torch has two layers: an inner and an outer 'skin' with 3,600 and 4,400 holes respectively, held in place by a top and a bottom casting. The pattern created by the perforations and the overlapping layers was inspired by the Olympic rings. The components are laser-welded together and the holes are laser cut. The London 2012 Torch is one of the lightest Olympic torches. It is made from gold PVD-finished aluminium. A torch was produced for every torchbearer (8,000); each weighs around and stands tall. The weight was achieved to ensure the torch was able to be