Olympic Games 1996

IYRU Olympic Update

THE OLYMPIC FLAME

The Olympic Flame arrived in the United States from Athens on the morning of 28th April 1996 on board an aircraft chartered for this purpose by the organising committee of the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in Atlanta (ACOG).

ACOG president Billy Payne and other ACOG leaders were on the plane, which will landed in Los Angeles, host city of the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1984. The flame will journey across the United States, covering almost 24,000 kilometres.

For 84 days, it will be carried by some 10,000 torchbearers until it arrives at the Olympic stadium in Atlanta on 19th July. The relay route has been planned so that 90% of the population will have access to one of the places through which the torch will pass.

As on previous occasions, the Olympic flame will be carried by many different forms of transport, including cable cars in the streets of San Francisco, the legendary stagecoach of the Pony Express in Nebraska and a canoe on the Arkansas River, following the traditions of the Indian community.

IYRU Olympic Update