AOC: The Olympic Flame for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games was lit at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Greece on 30 April 2014 and since then has been travelling around the world.

On Sunday 15 June, Australia will welcome the flame to the great southern land, with a celebration at Federation Square in Melbourne.

Selected members of the 2014 Australian Youth Olympic Team, including hockey players Max Hendry and Jonathan Bretherton will attend the event, organised by the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYC).

The ACYC is a collection of university chapters across Australia and China committed to furthering an understanding between our two countries through education, language and careers partnerships.

The organisation is hosting the event to support the Australian athletes going to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing and will present the athletes with an award before they depart.

In addition, the Australia Nanjing Chamber of Commerce, Jiangsu Society and other Chinese community groups will attend the event and media crews from China will be there.

There will also be some musical performances to celebrate Australia's connection with the local Chinese community.

Unlike previous torch relays, the Nanjing Youth Olympic Torch Relay is virtual. Anyone with a Smartphone can download the app and take part.

Through the app, participants can run with their phone and the distance to a cumulative distance tally using the phones’ GPS technology. The app also allows individuals to touch two phones together and pass the flame on.

The app, titled ‘Nanjing 2014 Torch Relay’, can be downloaded free from the Google Play Store and App Store.

The second summer Youth Olympic Games take place in Nanjing, China from 16 – 28 August 2014. Australia anticipates sending a team of 89 athletes to the Games.

Frances Cordaro
olympics.com.au
@AUSOlympicTeam