The Olympic Flame and the Opening Ceremony

Months before the Olympic games begin, the Olympic flame is ignited in Olympia, Greece using the sun’s rays and a mirror.

After the torch is lit, relays of runners carry the flame from Olympia, Greece to the site

of the Olympic games, which is Sochi, Russia this year.

http://en.ria.ru/video/20130930/183850464.html (1:12)

This year the flame will travel more than 65,000 km (40,390 miles) for 123 days

before reaching Sochi.

The design of

the torch has changed throughout the years.

The Olympic torch for the Sochi 2014 games looks like this:

http://torchrelay.sochi2014.com/en/our-torch

History was made when 3 Russian cosmonauts carried an unlit torch OUTSIDE of the International Space Station. The torch had been in

space 3 times before but never outside of the space shuttles.

The cosmonauts took pictures with the Space Station and Earth in the background.

http://www.space.com/23540-olympic-torch-taken-out-on-spacewalk-video.html (6:09)

The torch relay included camels.

The torch relay included reindeer.

The torch travelled on tanks.

The torch was carried on a dragon boat.

The torch travelled on other boats.

The torch was carried by a runner in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral outside of Red Square in Moscow.

The final runner will take the torch into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony and will light the

Olympic cauldron. The flame will burn throughout the Olympic games.

Also at the Opening Ceremony is the Parade of Nations. The athletes of each

country will enter the stadium in a certain order.

Greece always enters first because the Olympics originated there. The hosting

country (which is Russia this year) is last.

The other countries enter in alphabetical order. This year the teams will enter according to the country names in Russian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Winter_Olympics_Parade_of_Nations

Opening Ceremonies will be held this year in Sochi’s Fisht Olympic Stadium on Friday, February 7th.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/

Let’s hear it for Team U.S.A!