Has the Olympic flame ever gone out? How do they keep it lit during the Olympic Games?

Every Olympic year, the Olympic flame is lit at the site of the ancient Games in Olympia, Greece before making its way to the upcoming host city via a number of stop-offs on a torch relay decided upon by the Olympic Committee.

Olympic flame lit in Paris to kick off the 2024 games

Marie-José Pérec and Teddy Riner officially lit the Olympic cauldron in Paris on Friday after traveling through Europe since April 16, 2024.

What is the purpose of the Olympic flame?

The symbolism of the flame is to represent continuity between the Ancient Greek Olympics and the modern Olympics. That means that, in theory, it should stay lit once it has been ignited. However, that can sometimes be easier said than done, especially when in transit, with specially designed containers protecting the flame - and back-ups - when it’s on the move by different means of transport.

During the opening ceremony of each Games, the final torch bearer transfers the flame to the Olympic cauldron inside the central host stadium, although it is not always safe there either.

A parabolic mirror and the sun’s heat are initially used to light the flame, with an already-lit copy on hand if the lighting takes place on a rainy day.

Such back-up torches, lit from the original flame, are crucial to ensuring the flame stays lit (almost) all the time and are used to reignite it when it goes out, which often happens.

When the Olympic flame goes out

There are numerous instances of the Olympic flame going out and having to be re-ignited, sometimes in weird, wonderful and not very “proper” ways.

An official initially relit the flame with a cigarette lighter after it had been put out by a rainstorm at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, before it was then reignited again using a back-up.

A similar incident took occurred before the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi in Russia, with a security officer reportedly relighting the flame with a lighter after it had gone out at the Kremlin in Moscow.

Prior to that event, a journalist claimed the flame had blown out 44 times as they followed it from Olympia to Sochi.

All that despite the fact the current torch has a safeguard built into it which is designed to ensure the flame keeps burning.

There are actually two flames inside, one which is visible but doesn’t last especially long in the wind and rain. The other is smaller but hotter, and is protected deeper inside the torch to make it capable of reigniting the more visible flame.