Olympic Flame Lit in Ancient Olympia

Ancient Olympia, Greece - March 24, 2008

The flame for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was lit from the the sun's rays today at a ceremony in Ancient Olympia. From Olympia, the flame began its 137,000 kilometer journey to Beijing when the high priestess, portrayed by actress Maria Nafpliotou, passed the torch to Alexandros Nikolaidis, silver medal winner in Taekwondo at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The torch will be carried throughout Greece by 645 torchbearers before being handed over to officials of the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee, at the Panathanikos Stadium next week.

The torch will cross five continents, stopping in 21 cities around the world before reaching China. In the host country, the Olympic flame will stop in over 100 places before entering the Olympic Stadium in Beijing during the Opening Ceremony on August 8 to light the Olympic cauldron.

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