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Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay Lights Up The World

A prelude to the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in July, the symbol of the spirit of Olympiad, the Olympic Flame is being taken by international torch bearers on a truly global journey.  Crossing six continents, 27 countries and 34 cities, the Athens 2004 Olympic Torch Relay will use 3,600 torchbearers along its path.

In the ancient city of Olympia on March 25, the flame was lit by the natural rays of the sun and brought to Athens. Now burning in the Panathinaiko Stadium, it will begin a 46,800-mile journey around the world on June 4, carried from the stadium by Australian Olympic champion Cathy Freeman, who lit the Olympic flame in Sydney for the 2000 Games.

The 2004 Olympic Torch Relays will start in Sydney Australia June 4th before being handed from torchbearer to torchbearer across the world.

It arrives Beijing at 4am on June 9 for a torch relay throughout the city before heading off again, touching down around the world including stops in Delhi, Rio de Janeiro and New York, returning to Athens on July 9. After a brief tour of the country and its islands, the Flame returns to the Olympic stadium August 13. The Games Opening Ceremonies are on August 13 and Closing Ceremonies on August 29.

With an ancient and inspiring history, the Olympic Games was revived in 1896 after a millennia, when the original Olympic Valley was discovered by archaeologists in the Prefecture of Ilia in 1881, dating the games back to AD 394.

The modern Games were conceived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and based around the idea that nations competing fairly and openly in the sport arena would be less likely to come into conflict. Coubertin designed the Olympic insignia of five interlocking circles. Today the games continue to carry the theme of peace and unity and the global 2004 Olympic Torch Relay brings with it the motto and Torch Relay Song Pass the Flame, Unite the World  promoting global connectedness. Reviving an old Olympic tradition Greece has called for an Olympic Truce during the games asking for all hostilities around the world to cease during the event.

Associated with the Olympic Games since 1927, Coca-Cola is to be presenting partner of the 2004 Olympic Torch Relay alongside Samsung who have been connected with Games since their national sponsorship of the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988.