Olympic Flame Lights Up the 2012 Summer Games, Today

July 27 2012

Approximately four billion people are expected to watch the London 2012 Opening Ceremony today. Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Opening Ceremony will feature a parade of all competing nations and the highly anticipated entrance of the Olympic flame, which ignites the cauldron and signals the start of the Games.

Did you know?

That London is the first city to host the Olympics three times? They were the Olympic hosts in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, approximately 2,100 medals will be presented in 302 ceremonies to athletes from 204 countries competing in the 26 sports.

The United States has won more medals, 2,302, at the Summer Games than any other country.

In 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted to include women's boxing in the 2012 Games, so men and women will now be competing in all sports. However, equestrian events are the only Olympic sport in which men and women compete on equal terms.

Olympic History

The Olympic flag was conceived in 1914 by Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee. The inter-connected rings symbolize the five major continents and the friendships gained from the international competitions. The Olympic flag was first flown during the 1920 Games.

The Olympic flame originated in ancient Olympic Games when a flame was ignited by the sun and kept burning until the closing of the Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Games in Amsterdam and the Olympic Torch relay originally launched at the 1936 Olympic Games.

There's a 62-year age difference between the oldest and youngest Olympians ever. The youngest Olympian, age 10, was Dimitrios Loundras, a Greek gymnast in the 1896 Athens Olympics. The oldest Olympian, age 72, was Oscar Swahn, a Swedish shooter in the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium.

That’s quite a history. Now, let’s all sit back and enjoy the games while new history is made! I know that we at WarmlyYours are ready to let the games begin!