News The Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay is taking shape Following the announcement of the 83 Brazilian cities through which the torch will pass, made during the torch presentation, the first dates for the route were confirmed on Wednesday (5 August) In a press conference at Barra Olympic Park, Carlos Nuzman, president of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, announced that the torch will be lit in the Greek city of Olympia, according to the ancient tradition of the Olympic Games, on 21 April 2016 After a quick tour of Greece, the torch will be passed to Brazilian organisers on 27 April And, on 3 May 2016, the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay will finally begin in Brasília, lasting 95 days and culminating in the lighting of the cauldron at the Maracanã Stadium, on 5 August 2016, exactly a year from now Also this Wednesday, Rio 2016  took the Olympic torch to Largo da Carioca, in the city centre, so that the public could “get to know” it personally, in a sneak preview of what will be experienced from May 2016 during the relay In innumerable selfies, hundreds of people recorded the torch from just a few metres away Performance artists made the most of the torch's visit to Rio city centre (Photo: Rio 2016) The 83 cities announced include the 26 state capitals, as well as the Federal District, and will be the destination of the torch at the end of each day of the relay – or rather, where it will spend the night – with the exception of when there are technical stops or special moments along the torch’s journey Besides the carrying of the torch, the relay involves an entire convoy of vehicles, which should pass through around 500 cities: 300 will welcome the relay itself and a further 200 will watch the convoy pass by with the flame exposed The complete itinerary will be published at the beginning of 2016 The course was planned with the objective of reaching the greatest number of people possible, within the pre-established period for the total duration of the relay Rio 2016 estimates that the torch relay will reach 90 per cent of Brazilians There will be 12,000 torchbearers, each one carrying the torch for roughly 200 metres and passing the Olympic flame from one to the next A total of 20,000km will be covered by road and over 10,000 miles by air across parts of the North and Centre-West, between Teresina and Campo Grande – without the flame being extinguished