Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
olympic torchlatest news & developments
Oumar Dieme, 91, a Senegalese tirailleur (rifleman) poses for a portrait in Badiana on May 14, 2024. (Photo by JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images)
AFRICA

Nonagenarian Senegalese ex-rifleman to carry Olympic torch in France

The former rifleman was selected to go to the games in recognition of the forgotten Senegalese Tirailleurs Corps

  • Malick Rokhy
  • Alexandre Marchand
4 min read
Russian President Vladimir Putin poses with athletes during a visit to the Olympic village in Sochi.
GAY RIGHTS

Olympic torch fires up Sochi controversy

Russia was ready to put on a grand show for the Winter Games when the Olympic torch arrived in Sochi despite concerns about gay rights and corruption.

  • Shaun Walker
5 min read
The opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
OLYMPIC TORCH

Sochi Olympic flame lit after world’s longest relay

The Olympic flame has reached Sochi, following a 65 000km route, the longest in the history of the Games.

  • Sapa Ap
3 min read
CANADA

Olympic torch crosses Arctic in historic first

The Olympic flame began its first trek through the Canadian Arctic by crossing paths with a polar bear on the shores of Hudson Bay.

  • Staff Reporter
1 min read
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

Olympic committee scraps international torch relays

The IOC has decided to scrap torch relays outside the host country ahead of Olympic Games in the wake of last year’s chaos in the build-up to Beijing.

  • Staff Reporter
2 min read
BEIJING

Olympic torch cheered through Beijing

Flag-waving crowds cheered the torch relay through Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday as Olympic fever mounted.

  • Phil Chetwynd
4 min read
CHINA

Olympic torch paraded in sealed-off Tibet

The Olympic torch was paraded on Saturday through the streets of Tibet’s capital, Lhasa — the scene of bloody riots in March.

  • Ken Teh
4 min read