2004 Summer Olympics torch relay
 | |
| Host city | Athens, Greece |
|---|---|
| Countries visited | Greece, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, India, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Albania |
| Start date | 25 March 2004 |
| End date | 13 August 2004 |
 |
| Part of a series on |
| 2004 Summer Olympics |
|---|
|
The 2004 Summer Olympics Torch Relay took the Olympic Flame across every habitable continent, returning to Athens, Greece. Every city which had hosted, will host, or coincidentally elected to host the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics and the Youth Olympics was revisited by the torch, as well as several other cities chosen for their international importance. The main reason why the torch relay went around the world was to highlight the fact that the Olympic Games were started in Greece (in ancient times) and in modern times have been held around the world and then took place in Greece in 2004.
The relay was the first time the Olympic flame had travelled to Africa and South America. The flame was transported from country to country aboard a specially-equipped Boeing 747 leased from Atlanta Icelandic (Registration TF-ARO) called Zeus. On board the flame was carried and burned continuously in specially modified miners lamps.
Route in Greece (first phase)[]
25 March:
- Olympia, Elis, Pyrgos, Andritsaina
26 March:
- Megalopolis, Dorio, Kopanaki, Kyparissia, Filiatra, Gargalianoi, Pylos
27 March:
28 March:
29 March:
30 March:
31 March:
- Kranidi, Spetses, Hydra, Poros, Aegina, Salamina, Panathenaic Stadium
International Route[]
The International Leg of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay officially began on 4 June 2004, when the flame touched down in Sydney, Australia, host city of the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Route in Oceania[]
| Date | Map |
|---|---|
|
4 June: Sydney, Australia (host city of the 2000 Summer Olympics) |
Route in Asia[]
| Date | Map |
|---|---|
|
6 June: Tokyo, Japan (host city of the 1964 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Olympics) |
  Tokyo Seoul Beijing Delhi |
Route in Africa[]
| Date | Map |
|---|---|
|
11 June: Cairo, Egypt |
 Cairo Cape Town |
Route in America[]
| Date | Map |
|---|---|
|
13 June: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics) |
 Rio de Janeiro Mexico City Los Angeles St. Louis Atlanta New York Montreal |
Route in Europe (excluding Greece)[]
| Date | Map |
|---|---|
|
21 June: Antwerp, Belgium (host city of the 1920 Summer Olympics) |
 Antwerp Brussels Amsterdam Geneva Lausanne Paris London Madrid Barcelona Rome Munich Berlin Stockholm Helsinki Moscow Kyiv Istanbul Sofia Nicosia |
The International Leg of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay officially concluded on July 8, 2004, just over a month after it began its global journey and just over a month before the 2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony on 13 August 2004.
Route in Greece (second phase)[]
9 July (day 1)
- Heraklion
10 July (day 2)
- Knossos, Malia, Agios Nikolaos, Sitia
11 July (day 3)
- Ierapetra, Pyrgos, Agia Galini
12 July (day 4)
13 July (day 5)
14 July (day 6)
15 July (day 7)
16 July (day 8)
17 July (day 9)
- Orestiada, Didymoteicho, Soufli, Feres, Alexandroupoli
18 July (day 10)
- Sapes, Komotini, Lake Vistonida, Abdera, Xanthi
19 July (day 11)
- Chrysoupoli, Kavala, Philippi
20 July (day 12)
21 July (day 13)
22 July (day 14)
23 July (day 15)
- Moudania, Triglia, Epanomi, Michaniona, Thermi, Thessaloniki
24 July (day 16)
25 July (day 17)
26 July (day 18)
27 July (day 19)
- Psarades, Amyntaio, Ptolemaida, Kozani
28 July (day 20)
29 July (day 21)
30 July (day 22)
31 July (day 23)
1 August (day 24)
2 August (day 25)
3 August (day 26)
4 August (day 27)
5 August (day 28):
6 August (day 29):
7 August (day 30):
8 August (day 31):
- Missolonghi, Rio–Antirrio bridge, Patras
9 August (day 32):
- Aigio, Akrata, Xylokastro, Kiato, Corinth
10 August (day 33):
11 August (day 34):
- Piraeus
12–13 August (days 35 & 36):
- Athens
After visiting Cyprus, the Greek Leg of the Torch Relay resumed on 9 July 2004, with the flame touching down in Crete in the city of Heraklion. During the Greek Leg of the relay, the torch also made a cursory stopover in Albania when the torch was carried through a lake on the Greek-Albanian border.
Aftermath[]
The International Olympic Committee has indicated that, due to the success of the 2004 run, they might sanction a global circumnavigation of the flame before every succeeding Olympics. However, those plans were abandoned in March 2009 due to the protests in the international leg of the torch relay of the 2008 Summer Olympics (with an exception made for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games).[1]
The torch relay proved instrumental in the recognition of the importance of trending on Twitter by Abdur Chowdhury during a train journey, a usage which eventually expanded to other Internet platforms.[2]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "IOC Scraps International Torch Relays". Around the Rings. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
- ^ Coletti, Paul (2 July 2016). "The father of trending: Abdur Chowdhury". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
External links[]
- 2004 Summer Olympics
- Olympic torch relays