<Li> The 2012 Summer Olympics flame in London was carried by Sir Steve Redgrave to a group of young British athletes . The group of seven, nominated by British Olympic champions, each lit a single tiny flame on the ground, igniting 204 petals, one for each competing nation or territory during the Parade of Nations . Mounted on long, hinged arms, the petals were raised and converged to form the Olympic cauldron . The cauldron that traditionally flames continuously from the opening until the closing ceremony was temporarily extinguished (the flame itself was transferred to a lantern) prior to the athletics events while the cauldron was moved to the southern side of the stadium . It was relit by Austin Playfoot, a torchbearer from the 1948 Olympics . In contrast to the cauldrons in Vancouver, the cauldron was not visible to the public outside the stadium . Instead, monitors had been placed throughout the Olympic Park showing the public live footage of the flame . </Li> <Li> For the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the cauldron was situated directly outside Fisht Olympic Stadium, the ceremonial venue for the Games . After the torch's lap around the stadium, hockey great Vladislav Tretiak and decorated figure skater Irina Rodnina carried the torch outside the stadium to light a larger version of the "celebration cauldron" used in the main torch relay at the center of the Olympic Park . A line of gas jets carried the flame from the celebration cauldron up the main cauldron tower, eventually lighting it at the top . </Li> <Li> For the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the cauldron was lit inside the Maracanã Stadium, the ceremonial venue for the Games, by Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei de Lima . As part of these Games' appeal towards environmental protection, organizers deliberately chose to use a basic design with a smaller flame than past cauldrons . To compensate for the smaller cauldron, it is accompanied by a larger kinetic sculpture designed by Anthony Howe . A public cauldron was lit in a plaza outside the Candelária Church following the opening ceremony . </Li> <Ul> <Li> 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> Cancelled 1940 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1948 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1952 Winter Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1968 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1976 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1984 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 1996 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2002 Winter Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2004 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2006 Winter Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2008 Summer Paralympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2010 Winter Paralympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2010 Summer Youth Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2012 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2014 Winter Olympics torch relay </Li> <Li> 2016 Summer Olympics torch relay </Li> </Ul>

Where did the torch & flame tradition come from