Lighting the 2012 Olympic Flame

The Olympic Flame for the London 2012 Games, lit in Olympia, Greece with a traditional ceremony on 10 May, arrived in the UK on 18 May, where it started its 70-day Torch Relay journey.

The Olympic Flame is passed to Spyros Gianniotis,
a 32-year-old Liverpool-born swimmer, who won a silver medal for Greece
in the 5-kilometer open water event four years ago in Beijing,
during the lighting of the flame ceremony,
on May 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

The Flame was lit at the Temple of Hera, among the ruins of the home of the Ancient Games, with a precise ritual where the sun’s rays were captured for the lighting, through a parabolic mirror. Maybe the most significant symbol for the Olympic Games, the Olympic Flame stands for peace, unity and friendship. 

Traditionally, after being lit in Greece before a short relay, it is handed over to the Host City, where another ceremony takes place in the Panathenaiko Stadium in Athens. In this year’s Handover Ceremony, the Flame was received by the London 2012 ambassador David Beckham, Princess Anne, the President of the British Olympic Association and a former Olympian, and five young people selected by the Get Set education programme run by the British Council. 

Performers dressed as ancient Greek priestesses perform a ritual dance,
during the lighting of the flame ceremony,
on May 10, 2012, in ancient Olympia. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)

The Flame began its 70-day, 8000 mile London 2012 torch relay on 18 May, Saturday morning at Land’s End, Cornwall. It will be carried around the UK by 8,000 torchbearers, until it ends its journey in the Opening Ceremony on 27 July, as the last torchbearer will light the Cauldron in the Olympic Stadium.

Olympic Torch Relay route here