What Happens if the Olympic Flame Goes Out Unexpectedly?

The process of lighting and transporting the Olympic torch is a grand spectacle. For instance, during the Rio Games, the flame was first ignited in April 2016 at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece. An actress, dressed as the high priestess of the Vestal Virgins, performed a sacred ritual, invoking the blessings of Apollo and Zeus, before kindling the flame using sunlight focused through a parabolic mirror.

The Vestal Virgins performed a dance, speeches were delivered, and one virgin released a dove. The high priestess then passed the torch to the first runner in the relay, Lefteris Petrounias, the world champion Greek gymnast. The Olympic flame was then flown across the ocean in a lamp, traveling with 12,000 different runners before reaching the cauldron for the opening ceremony in Rio. It burned until the closing ceremony on August 21, 2016, when it was finally extinguished.

The Tokyo Olympic ceremonies took a different turn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The flame was ignited in Olympia on March 12, 2020, in an empty ceremony with no spectators. There was no relay from Greece. The flame was then transported to Japan, but just two days before the relay was set to begin, it was announced that the Games would be postponed to 2021. The torch remained lit for a year, primarily at the Olympic Museum in Tokyo.

In March 2021, the torch relay in Japan finally began, but not as usual. There were no crowds, and instead of runners passing the flame to the next runner after covering 200 yards (183 meters), the torchbearers stood apart, passing the flame via a 'torch kiss.' The flame was moved in a discreet manner to each new location in Tokyo for a similar event. There were no cheering spectators—only online streaming of the event, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The journey of the Olympic flame from its birthplace in Greece to the host city each year is a momentous event that requires careful planning. The torches carried by the runners are crafted to produce a bright, visible yellow flame, ideal for photographs, alongside a smaller, hotter white flame that’s less likely to blow out. But sometimes things don’t go as planned—what happens if the flame accidentally goes out?

The short answer is that, despite 24/7 security, the flame is sometimes extinguished by weather, malfunctions, or human interference (e.g., protests or accidents). However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) keeps backup lanterns lit from the same flame as the Olympic torch at the original ceremony in Olympia. The IOC has established procedures for relighting the torch when necessary.

"I encountered this problem during the torch relay for the 2004 Athens Games," shared Tony Bijkerk, secretary-general of the International Society of Olympic Historians (ISOH), in our 2016 interview. "While running my 400-meter leg, I crossed an area where strong winds blew from the side and extinguished the flame. I had to stop and receive a replacement torch from the vehicle carrying the mother lamp. The second time, I got the original torch back, relit from the mother lamp in the car."

As Bijkerk explains, the mother lamp, which follows the relay runners, is similar to the mining lamps once used in coal mines. Accompanied by its own security detail, the message of peace and cooperation, and always with the mother lamp close by, it seems like nothing could go wrong.

Oh, but plenty can. In 2016, there were two failed attempts by onlookers to put out the torch—one with a bucket of water and another with a fire extinguisher. Back in 2008, the torch relay through Paris for the Beijing Olympics was disrupted by protests against Communist China's treatment of Tibet. The flame was extinguished and relit no less than three times, though French officials claim it happened closer to five times.

The 1976 Montreal Summer Games were one of the most chaotic in Olympic history. Due to a construction strike, the roof of the Olympic Stadium was incomplete when the Games began. When rainstorms extinguished the flame in the cauldron and no backup was available, a well-intentioned security guard used his lighter to reignite it. When the IOC learned of this, they extinguished the 'tainted' flame and relit it using one of the backup lamps.

The Olympic flame will burn in Tokyo until the closing of the games on Sunday, August 8, 2021. After that, it will begin its journey toward Paris, the host city for the 2024 Olympics.