Friday, May 11, 2012
The Olympic Flame that will burn during the London 2012 Olympic Games was lit yesterday in Ancient Olympia.
In a solemn ceremony according to the traditional ritual, the High Priestess Ino Menegaki appealed to Apollo -God of Sun and Light in Greek Mythology- before the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera and lit the Olympic flame by using a parabolic mirror to focus the sunlight on a torch.
The Priestess handed then the flame to the first torchbearer, Greece's swimming world champion Spyros Gianniotis who passed it to UK athlete of Greek origin Alexander Loukos.
The Lighting of the Olympic Flame signals the final countdown to the 2012 London Olympics, heralding the beginning of a torch relay that will culminate with the opening ceremony to be held on July 27.
The Flame will now travel around Greece during an eight day relay, stopping in several cities and islands including Thessaloniki, Crete and the border island of Kastelorizo. On 17 May, the Flame will arrive in Athens for the Olympic Flame Handover to London 2012 in a ceremony to take place at the Panathenaic Stadium. 
The Flame Lighting Ceremony was attended by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge, Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos, Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Capralos and London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe. In related news, Rogge was made an honorary citizen of Ancient Olympia in a ceremony that also marked the reopening of the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity.
Greek News Agenda: Lighting the Olympic Flame & Olympic Flame Cultural Events; YouTube: The Flame Lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia [VIDEO]
