| Why
is the Olympic flame lit? |
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The
Olympic flame is a symbol carried over from the ancient
Olympics, where a sacred flame burned at the altar of
Zeus throughout the competition. It was reintroduced in
the modern version at the 1924 |
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Amsterdam Games. Later, Carl Diem, chairman of the organizing
committee for the 1936 Berlin Games, suggested that the flame
should be lit in Greece
and then taken to Berlin via a torch relay. |
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| Today,
the flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by the natural rays
of the sun reflected off a curved mirror by women dressed in robes
resembling those worn in ancient times. The torch is then passed on
to the first relay runner. |
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| What do
the rings in the Olympic flag stand for? |
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The
5 Olympic rings stand for the five continents: Europe,
Asia, Africa,
Australia
and America.
Many people believe that the colours of the rings were chosen because
at least one of them can be found in the flag of every nation. |
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| Did
you know? |
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The flag has been used since the games founder Baron de Coubertin
presented it at the 1914 Olympic Congress, (celebrating the 20th anniversary
of the founding of the IOC). It made its Olympic debut at the 1920
Antwerp games. The same flag was used in every game till and including
1984 Games when it was retired and a new one used at the 1988 Seoul
Games. At the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games, the mayor of
the current Olympic host city presents the flag to the mayor of the
next host city. The flag is then kept in the town hall of the host
city until the next Olympic Games. |
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| What is
the Olympic motto? |
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Olympic motto is 'Citius, altius, fortius', a Latin phrase
which means 'swifter, higher, stronger'. The phrase was borrowed by
Baron de Coubertin from Father Henri Martin Dideon of Paris. Dideon,
a headmaster used the phrase to describe the athletic achievements
of students at the school. But he did not invent the phrase. |
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