Olympic torch is lit at site of the ancient games in Greece, ahead of Paris Olympics

2024-04-18 70

The Olympic torch was lit on Tuesday at the site of the ancient games in Greece, ahead of the Paris Olympics this summer.

Mary Mina, playing the role of the High Priestess, set the torch ablaze surrounded by an all-female cast of other "priestesses" in Ancient Olympia.

She then handed the flame to the first torch-bearer, champion rower Stefanos Ntouskos.

From the ancient stadium in Olympia, a relay of torchbearers will carry the flame more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) through Greece until the handover to Paris Games organizers in Athens on April 26.

The ceremony took place after speeches from organizers of the Paris Games and Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee.