10 Facts about the Youth Olympic Flame

Most of you probably know by now that the Youth Olympic Flame is making it's way across the globe. The torch was lit at the birthplace of the Olympics Games, Greece, on the 23rd of July and has since traveled to Berlin and Dakar. The journey of the Youth Olympic Flame will see it travel across five continents before it arrives in Singapore. I'll post more about the Flame Arrival Celebration that will be held at the National University of Singapore in a day or so...

But for now, here are 10 things you should know about the Youth Olympic Flame!


1) The Singapore leg of the torch relay is from the 7th to 13th August from 9.00am to 7.00pm. The relay will take a break on 9th August for the National Day Celebrations.

2) Gayle Nerva from Singapore Idol fame, will be performing LIVE in Mexico when the flame arrives for the City Celebration party! You go girl!!!!

3) This will be the last international torch relay in Olympic history. In March 2009, the IOC decided that all future torch relays will solely be held within the host's country.

4) The Youth Olympic Torch weighs roughly 1 kilogram. It is made of aluminum and is 60cm in height.

5) 2400 torchbearers will be involved in the relay in Singapore.

6) Each torchbearer will run a distance of 100m.

7) A total distance of at least 305 kilometers will be covered in Singapore. The torch relay will cover all five community districts and will also grace the financial district and through Orchard Road before reaching the Float@Marina Bay. I hear that the torch will also travel on a dragon boat across the Marina Reservoir!

8) On relay days, there will be a Community Celebration at the end of each day. The venues for the Community Celebration include: Nanyang Polytechnic, Republic Polytechnic, ITE College East and Marina Bay Promenade. For a full list of venues and areas covered by the relay, click here.

9) Special Community Cauldrons have been built for the celebrations. Each cauldron will remain lit till the start of the next relay. In addition, safety lanterns have been custom made to transport the flame as it travels all over the world. The Olympic flame is never extinguished and the lanterns ensure that it doesn't happen. For those wondering, Singapore Airlines is the official carrier of the Youth Olympic flame.

10) Last but not least, I will be running with the torch on the 7th of August. I don't know the timing yet but my location will either be Bishan, Toa Payoh or Ang Mo Kio. I can't wait!!!!