[2] The lighting ceremony was held on September 29, 2013, at Olympia, Greece with Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou as the relay originating torchbearer.

[3] The first Russian torchbearer was NHL star Alex Ovechkin, who received the torch from Antoniou in Olympia.

It was designed by a creative team led by Vladimir Pirozhkov and Andrei Vodyanik and weighs nearly 1.8 kg (4.0 lb), is 0.95 m (37 in) tall, 0.145 m (5.7 in) wide, and 0.54 m (21 in) deep.

[8] The People's Front (a movement created and led by Vladimir Putin) has called for a criminal investigation into the manufacturer of the torches, a rocket/missile factory.

The torch reached Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, and the depths of Siberia's Lake Baikal.