According to the passage, what does the burning torch symbolize?

On 17th of September 1988, teams representing the National Olympic Committee from countries around the world will march into a stadium in Seoul, capital of South Korea. A runner carrying a burning torch which symbolizes the link with the Olympic games in ancient Greece will mount the steps, light the Olympic flame which will burn throughout the games, and the Games of the twenty-fourth Olympic will begin.
     The Olympic idea means friendship and cooperation among the youth of the world. The Olympic Movement proves that real peace can be achieved through sport. Probably the best-known symbol of the Olympic Movement is the five linked rings, which represent the five continents of the world. The Olympic flag itself is white and the rings are in five colors, blue, yellow, black, green and red. Any national flag contains at least one of these five colors.
The original Games began in ancient Greece in 776 B. C. These games were part of a festival held every four years in honour of the god, Zeus, at a place called Olympia. The festival included contests that tested the skills of soldiers. Some Olympic sports such as boxing and wrestling and many of the athletic events have a long history. The modern games, revived in AD 1896, owe a lot to one man, Baron Pierre de Coubertin. He suggested that the Olympic Games which were discontinued in AD 393, should be restored and he helped establish the structure of the modern Olympic Movement.