When the Flame finally arrives in Rio next August it will also be the second time in 12 years that it has burned on Brazilian soil.

Athens 2004 wanted their Torch Relay to "Pass the Flame, unite the world". Rio de Janeiro was selected as one of 33 international cities, before it returned to Greece and the Olympic city of Athens. It thus shares an unusual record with Beijing. Both cities welcomed the flame years before they actually hosted the Olympics.

Rio was the ninth international city to receive the Flame that year. At the Maracanã Stadium 2,004 youngsters formed  the pattern of the Olympic Rings to greet the first Torchbearer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele. He shed tears of joy and emotion as he carried the Flame as it began its journey around the 19 neighbourhoods of Rio.

"Today, I have the privilege of being the first Brazilian to carry the Torch in our country and that is something for which there is no comparison," he said. The three-time FIFA World Cup winner sent the next runner, Marcio Santos, on his way with an embrace and a kiss.

Footballing icon Pele carries the Olympic Flame out of Maracanã Stadium in 2004
©Getty Images



Like Pele, Zico never made it to the Olympic Games, left out in 1972 after taking part in the qualification tournament. He did grace the World Cup on three occasions and carried the Olympic Torch. Romario was a member of the Brazil team which had lifted the World Cup a decade before. He was also an Olympian and had been leading scorer for the silver medal winning Brazil team at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games.

Brazilian basketball star Oscar Schmidt a five time Olympian had enjoyed much of his career in Europe. He too joined the Relay. Tennis player Gustavo Kuerten very nearly missed the Sydney 2000 Olympics over a different kind of wardrobe malfunction.

This was a dispute between the Brazilian Olympic Committee and his kit manufacturer. A last minute change of heart allowed him to compete. In 2004, there were no problems with the official blue and white Torchbearers uniform he was required to wear. Kuerten duly carried the Flame, though it did not inspire him to glory at the Games. Less than two months later  he went out in the first round to eventual champion Nicolas Massu of Chile in Athens.

Later in the day, television entertainer Xuxa Meneghel  exchanged the flame with Joaquim Cruz, an Olympic 800 metres champion 20 years before, at the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Rio drew again on the nation's fabulous football heritage to bid farewell to the Flame that night. Mario Zagallo, a team mate of Pele in 1958 and then coach of arguably the greatest of all Brazil teams in 1970, passed  the Flame to 2002 World Cup winner Ronaldo. An Olympian who won a bronze in Atlanta, he carried the Torch on the stage to light the Cauldron on Flamengo Beach.

Another football legend, Ronaldo, carrying the Torch in 2004 before lighting the Cauldron in Rio de Janeiro ©Getty Images



As the search for Rio's 10,000 torch bearers gets underway, thoughts also turn to who might be chosen as the final runner on Opening Ceremony night. Since Guilherme Paraense became Olympic champion in military pistol shooting in Antwerp 1920, Brazilians have collected 23 gold medals.

Sailor Robert Scheidt has returned from every one of his five Olympic regattas with a medal - two of them gold, Beach volleyball players Sandra Pires and Jackie Silva would surely be popular as would the appearance of the women's volleyball team, gold medallists in Beijing and London. For all the claims of Brazil's surviving Olympic champions, it still seems hard to look beyond football, the one gold medal they have not yet won. Football remains the heartbeat of the nation.

Although it seems an obvious call, Pele will surely be involved in some way. In 1996 Muhammad Ali emerged from the shadows to light Atlanta's cauldron, 20 years after the greatest, might we have the man they call "El Rey" The King?

A Brazilian was among the first bearers in 2012. Organising Committee President Nuzman, was present in Ancient Olympia for the Lighting Ceremony. He was invited to carry the Torch along the road above the ancient site as Torchbearer number four as part of the Greek portion of the relay.

"The Games feel really closer for us now" said Nuzman after his run. "We will get a lot of inspiration from London, not just the design of the Torch but for everything."

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman carries the Flame along the road from Ancient Olympia in 2012 ©ITG




This was an unusual innovation, though the Hellenic Olympic Committee have not yet decided  whether it will be repeated with a representative of Tokyo 2020 taking part in Rio's relay.

The first Torch will be lit in the Temple of Hera in Ancient Olympia from the rays of the sun and it is likely that the second Torchbearer will be a Brazilian. In 2008 and 2012, a runner from the host city took the Flame on the road to Olympia at the Coubertin Grove.  The Flame is then carried by Relay to Athens to be handed over to representatives of the host city several days later.

As they promote the Relay, Rio organisers are likely to take more care than the English tourist board which ran a television commercial featuring actor Rupert Grint, famous for playing Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, in 2012. "You won't see the Olympic torch in Crete this summer," said his script.

In fact Crete WAS the first island stop for the 2012 Flame. They were lucky they didn't cause a diplomatic incident.

Philip Barker has worked as a television journalist for 25 years. He began his career with Trans World Sport, then as a reporter for Sky Sports News and the ITV breakfast programme. A regular Olympic pundit on BBC Radio, Sky News and talkSPORT, he is associate editor of the Journal of Olympic History, has lectured at the National Olympic Academy and contributed extensively to Team GB publications. To follow him on Twitter click here.