The Olympic flame is a flame lit in a ceremony held in Olympia, Greece prior to the Olympic Games. This flame is then used to light the Olympic torch, which then tours the globe and the host country of the Olympics, ending in the host city and commencing the Olympic Games. A parabolic (concave) mirror is used to capture the sun's rays and light the torch, following the ancient Greek tradition, where they thought that fire was a divine power and that through this method they were stealing it from the gods.

In 2012, the Olympic flame was lit in May 2012 and will tour Greece and will cover 8,000 miles in the United Kingdom being relayed by 8,000 people before the start of the 2012 London Olympic Games.