Let the Games Begin!

July 27, 2012
Digital photograph of Olympic torch
Ralph Lavers, Torch, 1947
Cast hiduminium and perforated steel
Weight: .08 kg, Height: 47 cm with burner, Diameter: 22. cm
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Source: Victoria and Albert Museum Image Collections

The Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games is Friday, July 27. The dramatic high point of the ceremony in recent years has been the lighting of the cauldron with the Olympic torch. We'll celebrate this event with a few examples of the Olympic torch from our image databases:

Digital photograph of mosaic on face of Olympic stadium
Diego Rivera
Mosaics [detail] on Olympic Stadium, Mexico City, ca. 1956
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision
Source: Archivision Architectural Images
 

 

Digitized photograph of torch bearers in stadium
The Olympic flame is brought from the Berlin stadium to Gruenau, August 1, 1936
© Associated Press
Source: AP Images
 

 

Digital photograph of torch bearer aloft in Beijing stadium
Chinese gymnast Li Ling carrying the torch during the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 8, 2008
Source: Tim Hipps, U.S. Army [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons