Out of Fire, into Frying Pan: Olympic Torch Design History

Sculptor Walter Lemcke kept it simple when designing the first Olympic torch for the Berlin games of 1936, wisely omitting the eagle and swastika florishes he whipped up that same year for Hermann Göring‘s Air Ministry building. Subsequent designers stuck with classic, often chalice-like torches, until the Tokyo games of 1964 ushered in a minimalist, épée-like flame holder (pictured above, third from left) that proved enduringly popular. But things really started to get strange in 1968, when Mexico tried to render its Olympic logo in three dimensions with a torch that looked better suited to beating huevos. The wisk-like holder (above, center) found an heir in the Montreal torch of 1976 (above, at far right), which evokes a spatula and makes us hanker for crepes. Write your own torch song with the help of this helpful New York Times infographic that charts the history of Olympic flame holders from 1936 to the present. As for contemporary torches, Philippe Starck‘s 1992 design for the Albertville games (pictured below, second from left) kicked off a new trend in torches, which could now all pass for Bang & Olufsen telephones.

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