The Tribune

RIO 2016 has revealed the complete route of the Olympic Torch Relay that will begin on May 3 and spread the spirit of the Games around Brazil.

At a celebratory event alongside the organising committee’s headquarters, the first torchbearers and the uniform they will wear were also revealed.

The relay will visit 329 towns and cities across all five regions of Brazil, travelling 20,000 kilometres by road and 10,000 miles by air, and reaching 90 per cent of the country’s population.

About 12,000 torchbearers will carry the Olympic flame during the 95-day relay, which will be concluded during the opening ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium on August 5 when the Olympic cauldron will be lit.

As well as the relay sections of the event in towns and cities, the torch will also be taken to some of the nation’s most stunning beauty spots, such as Fernando de Noronha and the Iguaçu Falls.

According to ancient tradition, the Olympic flame was lit at a ceremony in the Greek city of Olympia on April 21 and completed a short relay of Greece before being passed over to Rio 2016.

With the announcement of the full Brazilian route, another 246 towns and cities have been confirmed alongside the 83 revealed when the torch was unveiled last July.

The public will be encouraged to come out onto the streets and engage with the torch relay through a digital campaign using the hashtag #ChamaGeral, which can be translated to #CallEveryone in English, although the Portuguese phrase features a pun, as ‘chama’ means both call and flame.

“By taking the Olympic flame to the whole country, we will be keeping our promise to give millions of people the chance to participate in a celebration that will stay in their memories for a long time,” said Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

“We want to see the pride of people in the streets, show our cultural diversity and our nature. We will reveal to the world the essence of our country.”

With the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch Relay set to showcase the best of Brazil, rio2016.com has selected some of the hightlights.

The relay will begin in the capital city Brasília, which was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the shape of an aeroplane, before spreading out into the Centre-West region and visiting some important points along the route in the state of Goiás, such as Pirenópolis, a historic town surrounded by waterfalls. Vila Propício, home to a number of caves, including Gruta Azul, lies around 70km away. The region’s attractions include ecotourism.

Caldas Novas and neighbouring Rio Quente form the largest thermal springs resort in the world, where more than six million litres of 37.5° water flows per hour.

Campo Grande and Cuiabá, the state capitals of Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso, are the gateways to the vast Pantanal wetland, which is home to distinctive fauna and flora. This area is a paradise for fishers, birdwatchers and photographers. Less than 100km from Cuiabá lies the Chapada dos Guimarães park, which has many trails to be explored.

The relay will then enter Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, in the Southeast region, passing through historic towns and beaches, and then on to the North East, which has some of the best known tourist attractions in Brazil.

After going to Salvador, in the North East state of Bahia, the relay will pass through the Lençóis Maranhenses sand dunes in Maranhão and the mysterious Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) of neighbouring Piauí, whose rock art and extraordinary rock formations have inspired legends related to UFOs. The torch relay will then proceed through rural areas that are home to their own traditional arts and rhythms, as well as stunning beaches along the coast of Bahia, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte.

In 1881, the idea was proposed to build a theatre in the middle of the jungle, in Manaus, and in 1896 the luxurious Teatro Amazonas was opened, alongside the Amazon, the most voluminous river in the world, which extends for nearly 7,000km and has more than 1,000 tributaries.

Until this day, history and nature are among the attractions of Brazil’s North region. In Belém, tourist sights include the Ver-o-Peso market and the Mangal das Garças ecological park.

From the North region, the relay will return through the Centre-West on its way to the South East, entering São Paulo, and then on to the South region, which also has strong traditions and is home to the beach city of Florianópolis.

The South also has mountains and milder wine-growing areas, including Bento Gonçalves in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The same state contains the 17th century Jesuit ruins of São Miguel das Missões. Paraná features the stunning, rainbow-rich Iguaçu Falls.

The last stage of the torch relay will return from the South region to the South East, entering the rich farmlands of São Paulo state, home to centuries-old coffee plantations, before going to the state capital – one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan cities, famous for its restaurants and culture. The relay will then pass along the north coast of São Paulo, taking in some of the country’s most beautiful beaches, before travelling through mountains and descending into the state of Rio de Janeiro. It will go through the Baixada Fluminense region and then arrive in the Games host city, the Cidade Maravilhosa, which will have its own internal relay until the cauldron is lit at the Olympic Games opening ceremony on August 5.