Stockholm 1956

Olympic Games Stockholm 1956 Official Torch

Silver, aluminum long handle capped by cylindrical bowl. Olympic rings cutout three times around edge. "XVI Olympiad 1956: Olympia Stockholm" encircles base of cauldron in blue letters. 16.1 inches high.

Designer: Ralph Lavers

Flame: Hexamine tablets with naphthalene and magnesium as a special igniting material. Combustion duration approximately 15 minutes.

Equestrian events could not be held in Melbourne due to Australian quarantine regulations; therefore, an additional relay took place between Olympia and Stockholm in June 1956. This was the only time that for the same edition of the Summer Games, two Olympic flames were lit in the same year.

Start date: June 2, 1956, Olympia, Greece
End date: June 10, 1956, Olympic Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden
First torchbearer: Takis Constantinidis
Last torchbearer: Hans Wikne
Number of torchbearers: 490
Relay length: 202 miles