Reuters
Athens, April 28: The Olympic flame that will burn in Rio in August for the first Games in South America was handed over Thursday to Brazil in the marble stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896.
After a six-day trek across Greece, the flame that was lit last Thursday by the sun’s rays at the birthplace of the Games in ancient Olympia was presented to the Brazilian organisers.
From its overnight perch at the Acropolis museum, it travelled through the streets of Athens before being carried into the stadium – which was built in 330 BC – by Greek high jump Olympic medallist Niki Bakoyianni.
After a relay in the stadium, Greek rowing champion Katerina Nikolairou lit the golden cauldron, surrounded by priestesses in long pleated dresses, and the crowd erupted into cheers.
“We … promise (to) deliver great Games,” Rio Games chief Carlos Nuzman said at the handover ceremony.
The flame will be flown in special safety lanterns to Switzerland for a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva Thursday. It will arrive in Brazil, May 3 for a relay across the country in the hands of 12,000 torch-bearers before reaching in Rio for the opening ceremony August 5.