The first phase lasted 7 days (25 to 31 March 2004), during which the Flame travelled around the Peloponnese, to the islands of the Saronic Gulf, and was handed over by the Hellenic Olympic Committee President to the ATHOC President in a ceremony at the Panathinaiko Stadium on 31 March 2004. The Flame remained there, burning in a special cauldron, for 64 days.

On 2 June, the Flame was carried by the Chief Operating Officer to the Athens International Airport, and was delivered to the Torch Relay Team by the President of ATHOC. In a modest ceremony attended by the Ambassadors of the countries the Flame was about to visit. In the early hours of 3 June 2004, the second phase began, setting off for Sydney, the host city of the last Games in 2000. The Torch travelled to Melbourne, to Tokyo, to Seoul and Beijing, the bustling streets of Delhi and Cairo - its first visit on African soil - and Cape Town.

                             

Torch Relay Pins

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the Flame landed in colourful Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and then the American cities of Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta and New York. Having visited Montreal, the Olympic Flame returned to Europe passing trough: Antwerp, Brussels, Amterdam, Geneva, Lausanne, Paris, London, Barcelona, Rome, Munich, Berlin, Stockholm and Helsinki. In the last part of its international route, it visited Moscow, Kiev, Istanbul, Sofia and Nicosia.

On 9 July, the Flame returned to Greece, and began the third and final phase of the Torch Relay in Crete in the Olympic city of Heraklio. From there, it began the second leg of the Greek route, a trip lasting 36 days. In Greece, the Flame lit up all 54 prefectures, stopped at 174 destinations, including 32 islands and 24 archaeological and historical sites.  Altogether it covered 6.600 kilometres on Greek Territory - 2.500 km on foot, 2.800 km in convoy and 1.300 km by helicopter.

The first truly Global Torch Relay was completed on 13 August 2004, when the Greek Olympic Gold Medallist (Mistral) Nikolaos Kaklamanakis lit the Cauldron at the Olympic Stadium, watchedby 4 billion TV viewers during the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Soursce document: Official Report 2004, Vol. II, page 105

1       25 March 2004      Ancient Olympia      Greece 
2          4 June  2004      Sydney                   Australia 
3          5 June  2004      Melbourne               Australia 
4          6 June  2004      Tokyo                     Japan 
5          7 June  2004      Seoul                     South Korea 
6          8 June  2004      Beijing                   China 
7        10 June  2004      Delhi                      India 
8        11 June  2004      Cairo                      Egypt 
9        12 June  2004      Cape Town             South Africa
10      13 June  2004      Rio de Janeiro         Brazil 
11      15 June  2004      Mexico City            Mexico 
12      16 June  2004      Los Angeles           USA 
13      17 June  2004      St. Louis                USA 
14      18 June  2004      Atlanta                   USA 
15      19 June  2004      New York               USA 
16      20 June  2004      Montreal                Canada 
17      21 June  2004      Antwerp                 Belgium 
18      22 June  2004      Brussels                Belgium 
19      23 June  2004      Amsterdam            Netherlands 
20      24 June  2004      Geneva                  Switzerland 
21      24 June  2004      Lausanne               Switzerland 
22      25 June  2004      Paris                     France 
23      26 June  2004      London                  UK 
24      27 June  2004      Barcelona              Spain 
25      28 June  2004      Rome                    Italy 
26      29 June  2004      Munich                  Germany 
27      30 June  2004      Berlin                    Germany 
28         1 July  2004      Stockholm             Sweden 
29         2 July  2004      Helsinki                 Finland 
30         3 July  2004      Moscow                 Russia 
31         5 July  2004      Kiev                      Ukraine 
32         6 July  2004      Istanbul                 Turkey 
33         7 July  2004      Sofia                     Bulgaria 
34         8 July  2004      Nicosia                 Cyprus 
35         9 July  2004      Athens                 Greece