A circle of fire ignited beneath a hot air balloon which slowly rose into the night ... “For the Olympic movement, only the symbol of a Flame that does not go out before the end of the Games ...

celebrating Leni Riefenstahl and her “Olympic flame lighting ceremony”, of which here are a few edifying extracts: "When Olympia awoke, when the sun rose behind the conical, green Mount Cronion and ...

The idea for the Olympic flame has its roots in ancient Greece, where a sacred fire was kept burning throughout the Ancient Olympics in deference to "the gods." A symbolic fire was introduced in 1928 ...

The new design at once depicts the Olympic flame within a gold medal, and the hair and lips of Marianne - the personification of the French Republic since the 1789 revolution. Organisers say the ...