Lenovo designed the torch relay devices for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The \\ “Cloud of Promise \\” motif has been placed on the lantern and on the candelabras of local cities.

In addition to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Torch, which will travel around the world to herald the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Lenovo has also designed lanterns and candelabras that will play an important role in the relay race. The lantern will keep the Olympic flame lit in the Olympics while it travels from city to city during the relay race. In the cities affected by the run, the last torchbearer of the day ignites the candelabra during the celebration.

The "Cloud of Promise" motif, which also decorates the Olympic torch, was painted on the lantern and the candelabra. Lenovo's designers were inspired by traditional lanterns decorating the walls of ancient Chinese palaces when designing the late successor. The lantern combines beauty with function: the sparkle of silver is combined with the purity of the glass that surrounds the flame, thus conveying purity and the spirit of the Olympic Games. In addition, thanks to its practical structure, it can be easily disassembled and cleaned - which is an important aspect for a lamp that needs to be cleaned regularly during shift operation.

The Lenovo team, strengthened with historians and anthropologists, used the philosophical concept of "round Heaven and square Earth" during the design of the Olympic candelabra, which also inspired the Temple of Heaven. While the shape of the candelabra resembles that of typical Chinese Bronze Age cauldrons, the fifty-six engraved swirling clouds create a sense of modernity and pay homage to China's fifty-six ethnic groups. The pedestal of the candelabra with its four legs and eight sides symbolizes that visitors from all over the world are welcome to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic candelabra is 130 cm high, symbolizing the 130 days of the relay race, and 29 cm deep, representing the 29th Summer Olympics.

For the 2008 Olympic torch, Lenovo’s “Cloud of Promise” motif was selected from three hundred themes. This torch will be carried by carriers around the world during the Olympic torch relay, which introduces the Beijing Summer Olympics.

From the very beginning, the Olympic torch has been meant to symbolize the history and culture of the host country and city. Lenovo’s unique design combines style and modernity with historic Chinese symbols. The primary pattern of the torch is the cloud, which is closely related to Chinese culture and is often featured in Chinese architectural works, drawings, paintings, furniture, and legends.

"As a global company with roots in China and a worldwide partner of the Olympic Torch Relay, we are honored that the concept and motifs of the torch will play such an important role during the Olympic Torch Relay," said Deepak Advani, Lenovo's Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President. "Lenovo's spirit is very similar to that of the Olympic Games, multicultural, cooperative and competitive. The professional and experienced design team of Lenovo saw with great enthusiasm the design of the torch decorated with the "Cloud of Promise" motif and the other equipment used for the relay race, which were born from the fusion of modern technology, the Olympic spirit and traditional Chinese culture. We are proud that the "Cloud of Promise" will be such an essential part of the world torch relay."

The concept of the torch

The torch is made of aluminum-magnesium alloy, measures 720 mm x 50 mm x 40 mm and weighs only 1000 grams.

Additional features:

• Dark red and silver are the dominant colors that combine traditional Chinese art with modern applied art, thus combining symbols of Chinese culture, philosophy and art
• Not only is the handle comfortable, but thanks to the rubber-based paint, it feels as if the runner is holding another person’s hand
• The embossed cloud pattern symbolizes the ever-evolving Chinese culture

Lenovo’s award-winning design team spent roughly ten months designing the torch. In total, more than thirty experts took part in the torch project, ten of whom formed the core of the team. Its members came from countries such as Germany, Singapore, the USA, Japan, New Zealand, Italy and China. Designers excel in many different disciplines; he was a graphic artist, chemist, engineer, anthropologist, artist and historian. The team spent months brainstorming and creative exercises to look at the torch from a number of different perspectives.

The official torch firing will take place in March 2008 in Olympia, Greece. It is planned that the Torch will travel to twenty-one cities on five continents, such as London, Paris, San Francisco, Canberra, Bombay, Nagano, Hong Kong and Macao, before spending ninety-seven days in China to Beijing, August 2008. On the 8th, he will open the Beijing Olympics.