On July 26, 1972 a twelve-man escort team met at Patras. There were two representatives of the OC, two engineers for technical matters and eight drivers. Their two automobiles were air-conditioned. Two trucks transported technical equipment:

gas bottle.  They could burn uninterruptedly for at least six weeks, were also dependable, safe and were to be lighted at Olympia. They excluded every risk of losing the Olympic fire.

Two days later at 12 noon, a group of Greek actresses lighted the Olympic fire according to custom and without spectators before the temple of Hera in the sacred grove of ancient Olympia. In solemn procession they carried the flame in a bowl through the arched entrance into the ancient stadium.

The president of the Greek OC welcomed approximately 6,000 guests there. Dr Hans Jochen Vogel spoke as representative and vice-president of the OC. The Olympic hymn was sung and Pindar's ode was recited. At 12:10 P. M., the first relay runner, nineteen-year-old Greek basketball player and medical student John Kirkilessis, lighted his torch.

After a ceremony the torch relay began to proceed through Turkey. Customs and passport control were quick and without complication. The Olympic flame remained in Istanbul for almost seventeen hours. The Turkish NOC supplied every vehicle with a Germanspeaking interpreter who accompanied them throughout the entire Turkish stretch. At a ceremony the Bulgarian NOC accepted the Olympic fire. Thousands of resort guests and tourists in the vacation spots along the Black Sea coast were able to witness the torch relay.

The ceremonial transfer of the Olympic fire to the Rumanian NOC took place on the main bridge across the Danube between Ruse and Giurgiu. The Olympic flame was solemnly greeted in the packed Bucharest Stadium. The handing over of the Olympic fire on the Rumanian-Yugoslav border near Moravita took place in a colorful ceremonial featuring folk dances. In Belgrade, the fire was welcomed and received in a small centrally located stadium.

On August 19 the torch relay reached the Yugoslav-Hungarian border near Horgas. There it was saluted by representatives of the Hungarian NOC in the usual manner. A helicopter accompanied the relay on the first stretch leading to Szeged and dropped flowers.

The president of Austria gave the Austrian Olympic team a fine send off at the Olympic fire reception in Vienna. The torch relay reached German territory for the first time in the afternoon of August 23 near Freilassing. It left the Federal Republic of Germany near Kiefersfelden to pass through Austria again. At Scharnitz the Olympic fire finally reached the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.

After a short salute the relay headed for Munich through Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In Murnau four paralyzed athletes each carried the Olympic fire 250 meters in their wheelchairs. The Olympic fire reached Munich punctually.

The Königsplatz presented an excellent backdrop for the reception of the fire. It held about 20,000 spectators and was at the end of an impressive approach street. The short ceremony was introduced by music and gymnastics performances. Mexican and Canadian folklore were presented on a widely visible stage set up before the Propylaea. The presidents of the IOC and the OC, the lord mayor of Munich and the president of the Bavarian legislature saluted the Olympic fire. Afterwards two torch bearers carried the fire from the plaza. One of them brought the flame to the Maximilianeum, (the seat of the Bavarian legislature) where it was kept in a widely visible brazier until the opening day. The second torch bearer began the relay to Kiel. A relay consisting of twelve motorcyclists brought the torch to Nuremberg at top speed. A container of gas attached to each motorcycle extended the torches' burning time to almost forty minutes. Thus fewer relays were required. At Kassel an eight-man rowing team brought the flame across the Fulda. The Olympic fire reached the Kiel Rathausplatz punctually at 9 P. M. on August 27. Here it was greeted at a ceremony and preserved until the opening festivities.

On the following day, relay runners carried the fire to the opening of the Olympic yachting competitions at Kiel-Schilksee. At the ceremonial plaza of the Olympic Yachting Center, the flame ignited the fire in the brazier. Thousands of spectators were present and all the ships in the vicinity of Schilksee blew their horns and sirens in salute. Cyclists transferred the Olympic fire from Olympic Stadium in Munich to the Augsburg city line on August 27, 1972. It was received on the eve of the canoe slalom competition on the Rathausplatz. It was kept here overnight, and a half hour before the starting time, it was carried by runners to the course.