List of Olympic torch designs

This is a list of torch designs used at the Olympic games.

Summer Olympic torch designs

Games	Host	Design	Designer(s)	Manufacturer	Length (cm)	Weight (g)	Numbers produced	Image	Ref
1936	Berlin, Germany		Walter Lemcke and Peter Wolf	Friedrich Krupp AG	27	450	3,840
1948	London, Great Britain		Ralph Lavers		47	960	1,688
1952	Helsinki, Finland		Aukusti Tuhka	Kultakeskus Oy, Hämeenlinna	60	600	22
1956	Melbourne, Australia		Ralph Lavers		47	960	400
1960	Rome, Italy		Amedeo Maiuri	Curtisa, Bologna	40	580	c. 1,500
1964	Tokyo, Japan				64.5	836	5,244
1968	Mexico City, Mexico		James Metcalfe		52.3	780	3,000
1972	Munich, Germany	The Olympic rings with the text "'München 1972 Spiele der XX. Olympiade'" on the handle. The logo on the upper surface of the plate. It resembles a top. The logo represents the sun, the moon and the stars.		Friedrich Krupp AG	75	1350	5,917
1976	Montreal, Canada	The torch was primarily made of aluminium and weighed 836 grams. It was fuelled by olive oil in part to further strengthen the link to the Greek origins of the events. This torch resembles a microphone. The holes represents the aboriginals of Canada. Red represents Canada and the Ethnic groups.	Georges Huel and Michel Daillaire	Queensway Machine Products	66	836	1,250
1980	Moscow, Soviet Union	The Olympic torch resembles a comet. The colors represents the four seasons. White represents the Autumn and Winter. Gold represents Spring and Summer. It has the words Москва-Олимпиада-80 on the white and the logo on the golden protective cover.	Boris Tutschin		56.5	700	5,000
1984	Los Angeles, U.S.	It resembles a blueprint. Etched on the ring of the torch were the words of the Olympic motto ("Citius, Altius, Fortius") with the Olympic rings between each word. It features the plaque of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Olympic Cauldron. This gives clues to the torchbearers on what the cauldron would look like.		Turner Industries	56.5	1,000	4,500
1988	Seoul, South Korea	The design of the torch, engraved with two dragons symbolizing the harmony of East and West.	Lee Woo-Sung	Korea Explosive Co. Ltd	50.5	1,000	3,300
1992	Barcelona, Spain	It resembles a flower pot and a cauldron. It has the words XXV Olimpiada Barcelonia 1992 and the logo.	André Ricard	Kromschröder	68	1,200	9,444	File:Antorcha-barcelona.jpg
1996	Atlanta, U.S.	It resembles a Greek column. It features 22 aluminum "reeds" intended to represent the number of times that the Games had been held. A gold-plated band towards the base of the torch features the names of all 20 host cities up to and including Atlanta while the logo is etched into another band near the top. The handle, made of Georgia hardwood, is found near the center of the 76 centimetres (30 in) torch. The Paralympic torch resembles a Native American arrow. It features the logos of the Paralympics on silver top and the Paralympic taeguks on the silver arrowhead. It was the words 1996 NationsBank Paralympic Torch Relay on the wooden center.	Malcolm Grear		76	1,600
2000	Sydney, Australia	The design of the Olympic and the Paralympic torches reflected three famed areas of Australian culture: the boomerang, the Opera House, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The concept also reflected the elements of earth, fire, and water. The Paralympic torch reflects the history, nature, cities, states and people of the host country.	Blue Sky Design	G.A. & L Harrington Pty Ltd.	72	1,000
2004	Athens, Greece	The torch was inspired by an olive tree leaf. The design was selected to enhance the flame with its upward dynamic shape. Its ergonomic curved design establishes the torch as the continuation of the flame, which which in turn rises as a continuation of the torchbearer's hand. It is made of metal (magnesium) and wood (olive tree).	Andreas Varotsos		68	700
2008	Beijing, China	It is based on traditional scrolls and uses a traditional Chinese design known as "Lucky Cloud". It designed in reference to the traditional Chinese concept of the five elements that make up the entire universe. Red is the traditional color of China. A maroon version was produced for the Paralympic torch. It references the yin and yang. The top of the torches represents the rivers, lakes, waterfalls, seas and oceans of China. The bottom of the torches represents the people, animals, forests, mountains, deserts, buildings, cities, towns and villages of China. The logo is on the center of the torch. The clouds represents the ethnic minorities of the host country. It has the words Beijing 2008 on the red/maroon bottom.	A team from Lenovo Group, public Company, Beijing		72	980
2012	London, United Kingdom	The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Torches were made of aluminum alloy skin, perforated by 8,000 circles to represent the 8,000 torchbearers who would carry the flame. The circles also helped to dissipate heat without it being conducted down the handle, and provided extra grip. The triangular shape of torches represents the three Olympic values (respect, excellence and friendship), elements of the Olympic motto - faster, higher, stronger, Olympic Games hosted by the United Kingdom (1908, 1948 and 2012) , tri-vision of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics (sport, education and culture) and the Paralympic agitos. The Olympic torch is gold while the Paralympic torch is silver.	Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby		80	800 without canister 1,090 with canister

Winter Olympic torch designs

Games	Host	Design	Designer(s)	Manufacturer	Length (cm)	Weight (g)	Numbers produced	Image	Ref
1952	Oslo, Norway	a map. This torch is the lightest.			22.8		95
1956	Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy				47	820	31,18
1960	Squaw Valley, U.S.		John Hench, a Disney imagineer		48.5	1,320	700
1964	Innsbruck, Austria				61	22.0
1968	Grenoble, France				76	17.0	50,00
1972	Saporro, Japan		Sori Yanagi	Mizuno Corporation	55	460	16,300
1976	Innsbruck, Austria				74.6	900	12,00
1980	Lake Placid, U.S.				73	10.80	52
1984	Sarajevo, Yugoslavia	It resembles a satellite and a solar panel. The gold represents the Olympic spirit. While the silver represents the snow and the clouds.	Mizuno Corporation	Mizuno Corporation	57.7	780	16,00
1988	Calgary, Canada	Calgary Tower. It bares the motto, Citius, Altius, Fortius and pictograms of the sports.			50.0	10.0	20,899
1992	Albertville, France	a horn of a bull or a flame (if turned upside down). It bears the name of the games in French, XVIes Jeux Olympiques D'Hiver Savoie France. This torch is the lightest in Olympic history.	Philippe Starck		41	13.0	55,000
1994	Lillehammer, Norway	The torch is a reminder of man's mastery over fire; a flaming branch is dragged out of the fire, and as it is raised the flame travels up its length. When you run with such a branch, it burns like a flaming flag. Norwegian craftmanship has been applied to the design of the Olympic torch. Like a sheath knife; it consists of a long wooden handle and a metal blade. The birchwood handle is the product of a long tradition in Norway, and the 'blade' of polished aluminium is a reflection of modern industry and technology. The long supple shape echoes that of the torch-bearer; the torch is more than a burning flame. The proportions are all-important: its length in relation to the human body gives it an elegance and a flow that would be lacking in a shorter torch, and torch and body together form a unit. It features the pictograms inside the metal blade. This torch is the thinnest.	André Marandon and Paal Johan Kahrs	Paal J Kahrs Arkitekter AS	18.4	12.0	70,000
1998	Nagano, Japan	A taimatsu (a Japanese torch), the silver body’s hexagonal form symbolizes snowflakes. It features the Nagano 1998 logo, the word "'Nagano 1998"', and the pictograms of the sports at the bottom. The top features golden Olympic Rings. The Paralympic torch has blue, red, yellow rings. The colors represent the colors of the taegueks. It resembles a bonshō (a Japanese bell). (if turned upside down)			55.0	15.00	69,01		image
2002	Salt Lake City, U.S.	An icicle. The top section was glass, and the Olympic Flame burned within the glass, echoing the 2002 Olympic theme Light the Fire Within. The glass stood for purity, winter, ice, and nature. Also inside the glass was a geometric copper structure which helped hold the flame. Copper is a very important natural element of Utah, and represented fire, warmth, Utah's History, and mirrored the orange/red colors of the theme Fire and Ice. The center section was made of silver and finished to look old and worn, while the bottom section was made of clean, highly polished silver. The center section represented the silver mining heritage of the American West, while the bottom section represented the future and modern technology. The Torchbearer gripped the torch at the junction of both the aged and polished silver, during which their hand represented a bridge from the past to the present. The two silver sections also mirrored the blue/purple colors of the Fire and Ice theme. It bears the Salt Lake City 2002 logo, the motto of the games on the silver bottom, light the fire within, the roman numbers for the number 19, XIX and the name of the Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games Salt Lake Ciy 2002 with the Olympic rings in the middle. The Paralympic version has minor differences from the Olympic torch, it bears the Salt Lake City 2002 Paralympics logo, the motto of the games on the metal bottom, Mind, Body, Spirit, the roman numbers for the number 8, VIII and the name of the Paralympic Games, Paralympic Winter Games Salt Lake Ciy 2002 with the Paralympic taegeuks in the middle.	Axiom Design	Coleman Company	83.5	13.00	12,000
2006	Torino, Italy	A ski pole, alpenstock and a mountain peak. The 12 holes represents the Mole Antonelliana. It features the Torino 2006 logo, while the Paralympic torch features the Torino 2006 Paralympic Games logo. The torch was criticized for being too heavy.	Pininfarina	Pininfarina	76.5	18.50	11,000
2010	Vancouver, Canada	The lines of a skier's turns carved in the snow and the undulating beauty of Canada's winter landscape. It bears the red maple leaf in front and the motto of the games at the back, With glowing hearts/Des plus brillants exploits. A grey version of the torch is for the Paralympic torch. The Paralympic torch resembles a grey curved cloud and the mountains surrounding Vancouver. The torch also represents the souls of the host city, host province and the host country.	Leo Obstbaum	Bombardier Inc.	94.5	66.0	12,000
2014	Sochi, Russia	a feather of a firebird. Silver in the design represented ice while the Red is the traditional colour of Russian sport and symbolizes the fire kindling in the mountains that surround the holiday resort. A Sky Blue version of the torch is for the Paralympic torch. Sky Blue symbolizes the strength and spirit of the Paralympic Movement and the harmony, commitment and energy of the Paralympic athletes.	a team of famous Russian designers and engineers		95.0	18.0	15,000

Summer Youth Olympic torch designs

Games	Host	Design	Designer(s)	Manufacturer	Length (cm)	Weight (g)	Numbers produced	Image	Ref
2010	Singapur	Red on the top of the torch represented youths' passion and "burning desire to learn and excel, blazing the trail in life" (Blazing the Trial was the tagline of the games). White represents the sky. Water in the bottom represented Singapore, which is an island country surrounded entirely by water bodies and which had its origins as a seaport; it also reflected the "vibrant and dynamic nature" of the city-state.			60	560	2,400		image

Winter Youth Olympic torch designs

Games	Host	Design	Designer(s)	Manufacturer	Length (cm)	Weight (g)	Numbers produced	Image	Ref
2012	Innsbruck, Austria	White represents snow and world peace. The pixels represents the soul of the countries, athletes and the people. The colors of the pixels represents each colors from the flags of the NOCs' countries.			60	560	2,012		image

Footnotes

Notes

Citations