Rio de Janeiro, May 2, 2016 – The Olympic flame is on its way to Brasilia. After being lit on 21 April in Ancient Olympia, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Torch was taken on a short tour of Greece, including through the Eleonas refugee camp, prior to a ceremony at Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens and a stopover in Switzerland, where it went on display at the United Nations in Geneva, and at the Lausanne Olympic Museum, before being flown on to Brazil.

As of Tuesday 3 May the Olympic Flame will be carried through the five Brazilian regions, involving the whole country in the spirit of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Ninety per cent of Brazil’s 204 million inhabitants will be reached on the route that will be taken by the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay, which will be a huge celebration of the Olympic spirit and values, the vitality of the host country and the stunning beauty of its landscapes.

On 3 May, the Brazilian capital of Brasilia will provide the venue for the start of a 95-day journey on which the Olympic flame will travel 20,000 kilometres by road and 10,000 miles by air, passing through the hands of around 12,000 relay runners as they make their way through every state in the largest country in South America. It will pass through over 300 towns, cities and villages.
The torchbearers will wear a white kit with yellow and green stripes, with white symbolising peace and unity between different cultures, yellow the Olympic flame and green the Brazilian flag. The torches being used for the Rio 2016 relay comprise different-coloured segments that open up when they “kiss” each other, i.e. when the flame is passed from one torch to another.