The global impact of the Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Games' return to the country of their birth and the city of their 1896 revival is a historical fact. The Olympic Torch Relay decidedly launches the countdown. The Olympic Flame visits all five continents for the first time.

The journey begins in Olympia, and the flame travels for 78 days, 35 of which outside Greece, covering about 78,000 km.

It visits Olympic cities and cities with a distinct symbolic significance: Brussels, the heart of the European Union, Lausanne, the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee, and Beijing, the host city of the Olympic Games of 2008.

It arrives in Rio de Janeiro, carried by Ronaldo and Pelé whose tears while holding the torch, overwhelms the whole world. For several days it plays in all the major international television networks.

The Olympic Torch Relay of OEA Athens 2004 engages all cultures. It is the Torch Relay of the five continents, symbolized by the five Olympic rings. It highlights the Olympic ideals and defines them as more relevant than ever.