Chinese Olympic medalist ignites cauldron in Athens

Former Chinese gymnast and Olympic medalist Li Ning and Greek veteran weightlifter Pyrros Dimas were the final torchbearers in the Greek leg of the relay whose job it was to ignite the cauldron at the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens as on Thursday.

The Olympic flame was then handed over to organizers of the London Games.

Lit in Olympia on 10 May, the flame was taken on a week-long tour of Greece. It will later be carried 8,000 miles (12,875 km) by altogether 8,000 bearers conducting a 70-day relay ending at the Olympic Park.

The relay begins at Land's End on Saturday when triple Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie will be the first to carry the torch on British soil.

After criss-crossing every region of the UK, the flame will be used to light the cauldron in Stratford's Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on 27 July, reported the BBC.