Caleb's olympic poster By lavink 1928 The first cauldron was lit in Amsterdam. 1936 Carl Diem had the idea for the torch relay. 1936 The flame was first lit in Olympia, Greece using a parabolic mirror. 1936 The first torch bearer was Konstantinos Kandyllis. 1948 The London 1948 relay was almost all on foot. 1952 The first time the flame flew on an airplane was 1952. 1972 The torch travelled by satellite impulses from Greece to Canada. 1992 The cauldron was lit by an arrow in China. 1996 The flame travelled through space to get to the Olympics in Atlanta. 2000 The torch was carried underwater through the Great Barrier Reef. 2004 The torch travelled all the way around the world. 2008 The torch went to the top of Mt. Everest.