Rio reveals the torch for South America’s first Olympic Games
The organizers of Rio 2016 have unveiled their torch to carry the Olympic flame that will travel from Greece to Brazil before starring in the Opening Ceremony on August 5, 2016.
While Toronto prepares to light the cauldron for the 2015 Pan American Games on July 10 of this year, many of the athletes participating in TO2015 will also be on hand in just over a year when the Brazil torch enters Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.
Rio’s organizing committee says the torch will visit roughly 500 cities and towns across Brazil. The torch’s design – according to its website – “unites movement, innovation and Brazilian flavour.”
“The moment of the kiss” transforms the torch from its depiction on the left to the one on the right when the flame is passed on the a new torch bearer.
From top down, segmented lines on the torch represents the sky, mountains, sea and ground – all part of Rio’s famous, picturesque landscape. These lines are revealed “at the moment of the kiss” or when the flame exchanges hands.
The colourful beacon aims to mimic the warmth of Brazil and its people as the nation gets closer to welcoming the world for the first South American Olympic Games in history.
