One flame - many feelings
Brazil is turning on the heat: for and against the Olympics. After a nationwide tour under heavy security, the torch has reached its final city: Rio de Janeiro. Will the flame spark passion for the Summer Games?
Rio, as it laughs and lives
Rio's most famous street sweeper Renato Sorriso smiles, and he's doing his name justice - "sorriso" means "smile" in Portuguese. Sorriso became famous for cleaning up the trash along the Samba parade route during Carneval. Here he lit the flame on a post in downtown Rio.
Final destination
It's done: Rio de Janeiro's mayor Eduardo Paes receives the torch on the banks of Guanabara Bay. The flame has arrived at its destination after a marathon tour through 324 cities and all 27 states of the world's fifth largest country by area. The journey here was long.
Waiting for a controversial flame
Throughout the country, the Olympic flame was met with protests. In the Rio suburb of Sao Goncalo, Brazilian police protected the torch route from onlookers and demonstrators.
Playing with fire
"Torch swimming": Brazilian Olympic athlete Icarus Pereira accomplished the unusual feat when he delivered the torch flaming and dry after a swim through the Claudio Coutinho stadium in the capital city of Brasilia.
Zeus sets sail
On a boat named after the Olympic god Zeus, Brazilian sailor Bruno Fontes holds the torch in front of the country's largest suspension bridge. The historic Hercilio Luz Bridge was inagurated in 1926 and is a symbol of the city of Florianopolis.
The sky above Brazil
In the city of Corumba, the torch took to the sky in a balloon. The view must have been breathtaking, because Corumba is the capital of Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands on earth. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002.
Dancing and protesting
Only around 500,000 indigenous people still live in Brazil. The country's original inhabitants are clearly underrepresented at the Olympic Games. The athlete Kamukaika Lappa Yawalapiti held a ceremony for the indigenous people of his native country at a memorial in Brazil.
A balancing act
Flame in hand, Brazilian gymnist Rebecca Andrada hangs over the city of Anapolis, an inland city of around 300,000 people in the state of Goias. Security personnel cleared her way.
Do you know what you're doing?
First chained, then shot. "Juma" the jaguar was supposed to wow the public during an event at the Manaus Zoo. After the ceremony, Juma escaped and attacked a soldier, who shot her. The organizers apologized and admitted their mistake, but for the animal, it was too late.
My bicycle, my torch
Torch bearers came in all sizes. After its arrival in Sao Paulo on July 24, a young boy carried the torch on his bike under police protection through the streets of Brazil's largest city.
Drums for the Olympics
As the Olympic torch was carried along the "Avenida Paulista" in Sao Paulo's financial district, there was plenty to marvel at up above. Artists and acrobats danced and drummed through the air.
Sporting hapiness
Brazilian penthathlete Yane Marques (left) hands the flame over to paralympic athlete Roseane Ferreira da Silva. Marques won Bronze for Brazil four years ago in London. Ferreira da Silva won gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney in discus and weightlifting. Her legs were amputated after a car accident.
Political upheaval
Brazil's under-fire President Dilma Rousseff lifted the torch at the presidential palace on May 3, as volleyball player Fabiana Claudinho (left) looked on. The Olympics were supposed to be the second major sporting event hosted in Brazil she would oversee, but Rousseff is now in the midst of impeachment proceedings. She will not be present for the opening ceremony at the Maracana Stadium.