What happens if the Olympic flame goes out? Everything you need to know about how the torch will journey from Greece to Paris

The Olympic flames are one of the most important traditions of every Games, and they are treated with the utmost caution. In the off chance that the fire does go out before reaching its final destination, the torch is simply relit using a back-up flame.

The journey of the Olympic flames begins every year in Olympian, Greece, the birthplace of the Games. There, in a symbolic ceremony, a parabolic mirror and the sun's rays are used to ignite the first set of flames, which are then passed on to the first torchbearer of the Olympic relay.

Alongside lighting the torch, the flames that begin in Greece are also used to ignite multiple lanterns, which in turn travel with the torch and are used if the original fire is extinguished for any reason.

The Olympic flames for the Paris Games were lit on April 16, by Greek actress Mary Mina, who acted as the high priestess who asked Apollo, the god of the sun, for help in lighting her torch, in front of the ruins of the temple of Hera. The flame then traveled around Greece for 11 days, covering an extensive route.

On April 26, the torch was handed over to the Organising Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and a day later it boarded the ship Belem bound for Marseille. The flame entered France on May 8, and is in the Côte d’Or area as of July 12.

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Has the Olympic flame ever gone out?

The Olympic flame has gone out on numerous occasions, with at least five instances recorded in public memory. At the 1976 Montreal Games, the torch successfully made the journey from Greece to Canada, only for the flame to go out in the cauldron due to a heavy rainstorm after the opening ceremony.

An Olympic officer reportedly relit the flame at that time with a cigarette lighter, but this flame was quickly blown out and reignited with the original fire.

Nearly three decades later, the Olympic flame once again fell victim to strong weather elements, when a wind blew out the fire in Athens. During the torch relay for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the flame was intentionally extinguished multiple times during the Paris leg of the relay due to security concerns over protests surrounding the event.

The flame also went out on two other instances, once in London while on a boat, and once during the 2013 Sochi Winter Olympics, where it was once again relit by a cigarette lighter.