Rio 2016 Charts Course for Olympic Torch Relay

(ATR) Almost all Brazilians will get a glimpse of the Olympic flame as it makes its way to Rio de Janeiro.

Rio 2016 announced preliminary plans for the 2016 Olympic Torch Relay on Jan. 29 at the Rio de Janeiro Museum of Modern Art.

The relay will visit all 26 states of Brazil along with the federal district over the course of 90 to 100 days leading up to the opening ceremony. The flame will travel directly from Greece before making its way around Brazil.

Over 10,000 people will carry the flame to 250 cities, which according to Rio 2016 will reach 90 percent of the Brazilian population. The relay will travel close to 12,500 miles on its journey.

Coca-Cola, Nissan and Bradesco will support the 2016 Olympic torch relay around Brazil.

Around the Rings learned on Jan. 13 that Coca-Cola would be participating in its thirteenth torch relay, having been a partner since the 1992 Summer Olympics Torch Relay in Barcelona.

Nissan has never participated in a torch relay, and Bradesco, a Brazilian bank, will serve as the relay’s domestic sponsor. Nissan is the official automobile supplier of Rio 2016, while Bradesco is the official banking supplier for the Games.

The three sponsors paid a combined $192 million to become sponsors of the 2016 Olympics, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Renato Ciuchini, head of marketing for Rio 2016, told Bloomberg that the three sponsors were a "good combination."

"You have Bradesco, which is very strong in every city of Brazil, you have Coke, an international company with Olympic torch experience, and we have Nissan, a huge global conglomerate which is just a startup in Brazil," Ciuchini said.

The design for the torch was chosen from a public contest and - according to the organizing committee - will be released later this year.

Written by Aaron Bauer

Homepage photo: Getty Images

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