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
Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics but this was updated to Refugee Olympic Team with the country code ROT. As part of an effort "to show solidarity with the world's refugees", the United Nations Refugee Agency selected Ibrahim Al-Hussein, a Syrian refugee residing in Athens, Greece, to carry the Olympic flame through the Eleonas refugee and migrant camp in the city as part of the 2016 torch relay. In addition, Kuwaiti athletes competed under the Olympic flag and the "Independent Olympic Athletes" title as a result of the suspension of the Kuwait Olympic Committee, their national Olympic Committee. The IOC identified 43 potential candidates for inclusion