The Olympic torch: its history and past disputes

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REUTERS - Greece handed the Olympic flame to China, the hosts of the 2008 Games, on Sunday despite attempts by pro-Tibet protesters to disrupt the ceremony.

A small group of activists tried to stop the flame from reaching the Athens stadium where Beijing officials were waiting, but they were quickly removed by Greek police.

Here are some facts about the Olympic torch relay, and past and present controversies.

HISTORY OF THE FLAME:

* Flame races were run in ancient Athens to honour deities including Prometheus, who, legend has it, stole fire from the gods and brought wisdom and knowledge to humankind.

* A fire was kept burning at ancient Olympics to honour the sun god Zeus

* Fire first reappeared at the modern Olympics in Amsterdam in 1928, when a flame was built into an Olympic stadium tower. It was seen as a symbolic link between old and new games.

MODERN TORCH RELAYS:

* Foot races with torches were run at the 1894 international congress in Paris which decided to re-establish the Games.

* The first modern Olympic torch relay was introduced for the 1936 Berlin Games. More than 3,300 torchbearers carried the torch 3,190 km from Olympia to Berlin.

* The 2004 Olympics in Athens saw the first global torch relay through 34 cities in 27 countries.

TORCH-LIGHTING CEREMONY:

* The torch is ignited several months before the games start at the ruins of Temple of Hera, in Olympia, southern Greece, site of the ancient Olympics.

* Carried on foot to Athens in an urn, it is delivered to host city officials at the Greek capital's Panathinaiko Stadium. Shielded in a security lamp, it then travels on to the host city on foot, or via boat, airplane, bicycle, car or train.

RECENT TORCH CONTROVERSIES:

* 2000: The torch-lighting ceremony for the Sydney Olympics comes under fire for switching the first handover from a Greek-Australian girl to the 11-year old daughter of an International Olympic Committee member.

* 2006: Protests in Italy force torch bearers for Turin's Winter Olympics to change route four times during a two-month trip across Italy. Protesters voice opposition to U.S. corporate giant Coca Cola's sponsorship of the Games, U.S. First Lady Laura Bush's related visit and the construction of a high-speed railway from Turin to France.

* Sept. 2007: Taiwan says torch will not come to the island, after months of talks with Beijing. Taiwan, a self-ruled island China claims as its own, was to be the stop before Hong Kong on the 137,000 km route Beijing unveiled in April 2007.

* March 2008: Human rights protesters try to disrupt the torch-lighting ceremony in Greece on March 24. Exiled Tibetans pledge to demonstrate against a security crackdown in Tibet and parts of western China after a wave of anti-government protests. China says there are no plans to change the torch's two scheduled visits to Tibet.

Sources: Reuters, International Olympic Committee

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