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The Olympic Torch: Symbolizing the Olympic Spirit

The Olympic flame has been a part of every Olympics since the Games' beginning in Greece 2,700 years ago. It symbolized the deaths and births of Greek heroes and epitomized the spirit of the ancient Games.

Though there was no torch relay used in the ancient Games, inspired by the importance of the flame, the Olympic torch and its relay was first adopted in the same Olympic spirit for use in the 1936 Games in Berlin.

The Olympic Torch Relay is a moment of high drama leading up to any Games and its opening ceremony. This was especially evident when the torch relay for the 2004 Athens Games took place on Beijing's streets on June 9, 2004. The streets were lined by an emotion-charged crowd that was totally revved up for the 2008 Beijing Games.

It was in this spirit that solicitations began on December 6, 2005, for design proposals for the Olympic torch for the Beijing Games, under the supervision of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). Proposals will be accepted until 4 p.m. (Beijing time) on February 28, 2006.
Three top designs selected from the many expected to be received will be forwarded to the BOCOG Executive Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for a final decision. The three finalists will be awarded bonuses of 50,000 yuan (US$6,196), and the final design will be unveiled in the middle of 2006. 
"Our concepts of the torch design are 'glory and dream, tradition and modernity, culture and harmony,' " said Zhang Ming, deputy director of BOCOG's Culture and Ceremonies Department, at a press conference. "Design proposals for the Beijing Olympic torch are supposed to artistically interpret the rich connotation of the concepts."

Submissions are also expected to display the distinguishing features of the Beijing Games, namely "Chinese style, cultural splendour and a contemporary spirit," and to fully demonstrate the vitality and passion of the torchbearers, according to Zhang.

BOCOG also requires that the proposed designs should be original and creative and that the torch designs should employ state-of-the-art technologies.

Anyone may submit a proposal. The request forms for proposals and other related documents can be downloaded from the official BOCOG Web site at: www.beijing2008.com. The organizing committee of the torch design proposal solicitation will also invite specialized arts or industrial design institutes as well as individual designers, including those who were involved submitted torch designs for previous Games, to contribute their works.

Each participant is allowed to submit a maximum of three proposals, and each proposal should include the following documents: 1) Core design plan with the artist's impression and the three-dimensional drawings of the proposed torch; 2) A supplementary design plan: on the basis of the core design plan, participants should submit the artist's impressions and three-dimensional drawings of the cauldron, the portable torch stand, flame canister, regulator and the torch package; 3) Elaboration of design concepts, and 4) The exterior and interior structures of the Olympic torch, technical standards and parameters (including materials to be used, ways to open the torch, flame testing data); fuel-system design (including designs for the fuel cradle, the fuelling canister, the fuel ignition switch and the safety system).

As one of the most influential promotional activities in the world, the Olympic Torch Relay plays a significant role in spreading the Olympic spirit and in showcasing culture and history as well as the economic and social developments of the host city and host country.