Mexico 68 Olympic Cauldron

The origins of the Olympic torch tradition can be traced back to the ancient Greek Olympic Games, where a flame was lit in honor of Zeus. This flame was kept alight throughout the Games as a sign of the competitors’ promise to compete peacefully and without resorting to violence. This custom was reintroduced for the modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been an integral part of the opening ceremony of the Games ever since.

Since then, the Olympic flame leaves Olympia in Greece and travels around the world until it reaches the Olympic Stadium in the city where the Games are being held. On its journey from relay to relay, the flame finds a place to rest from time to time. The Olympic cauldrons have the function of providing the sacred fire with a place where it can burn for a certain period of time.

One such cauldron, which was built for the Mexico 68 Olympic Games, still stands in the medieval town of Medinaceli in the province of Soria, Spain. The cauldron still stands as a testimony to a bygone era.

The organizing committee planned to imitate the route taken by Christopher Columbus on his discovery of America for the Olympic torch relay. On August 23, 1968, the Olympic flame was lit naturally in Olympia, marking the beginning of a journey that would continue until its arrival at the Olympic Stadium in Mexico City on October 12, Columbus Day, on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Games.

Almost two hundred runners carried the Olympic flame in relays from Zaragoza to Medinaceli, where the stone cauldron that has been preserved in the city as a reminder of the Olympic past was lit. It reads: 'Mexico, 1968'.