What does the Olympic torch mean/represent?
By tradition, the Olympic flame is ignited during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. In Olympia (Greece), a flame was ignited by the sun and then kept burning until the closing of the Olympic Games. The flame first appeared in the modern Olympics at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam.
The flame itself represents a number of things. It symbolizes purity and the endeavor for perfection. In 1936, the chairman of the organizing committee Olympic Games, Carl Diem, suggested to start the Olympic Torch relay. The Olympic flame is lit at the ancient site of Olympia by eleven women wearing ancient-style robes and using a curved mirror and the sun. The Olympic Torch is then passed from runner to runner from the ancient site of Olympia to the Olympic stadium in the hosting city. The flame is then kept alight throughout the Games. It represents a continuation from the ancient Olympic Games to the modern Olympics.