Rio Olympic torch to begin its journey from Caldes de Montbui

On July 3, Brazil's'president Dilma Rousseff presented the Olympic torch for Rio 2016, one of many that will be passed from hand-to-hand over 20,000 kilometres from Olympia to Rio de Janeiro for the start of the Games.

However, the torch will actually begin its trans-continental journey in Caldes de Montbui, in Vallès Oriental. The firm Recam Làser, which specialises in laser cutting, is the company that won the competition to produce the Olympic torch. The Vallès plant has now begun to manufacture some 15,000 units, which will be distributed around the world from the beginning of 2016 for the Olympic torch bearers to pass on to each other, until it reaches its final destination in the Maracanã stadium for the Games' opening ceremony. Recam Làser, which has a subsidiary in the north of Brazil, has developed a torch made of recycled aluminium weighing a kilo and a half.

The torch is white in colour with a design of wavy lines representing the earth, sea and mountains, and a final line that symbolises the Copacabana seafront promenade. The torch features the colours of the Brazilian flag, with a flame rising some 70 centimetres. The Rio Games will take place from August 5-21 next year.