Katerina Lechou (R) acting the high priestess hands an olive branch to Eleftherios Petrounias, Greece's artistic gymnast, during the Olympic flame lighting ceremony for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games inside the ancient Olympic Stadium on the site of ancient Olympia, Greece, April 21, 2016. (Photo: Xinhua/Jin Yu)
The Olympic Flame that will burn during the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics on Thursday.
Actress Katerina Lechou dressed as an Ancient Greek High Priestess, stood before the 2,500-year-old Temple of Hera, a goddess in Greek mythology, and used a concave mirror to focus the sun's rays and light the torch at 12:52 a.m local time.
A few minutes later, according to the schedule, she will pass it to the first torchbearer, Lefteris Petrounias, the Greek world champion in gymnastics.
The ritual ceremony at the ancient stadium in western Greece where the Olympic Games were born 25 centuries ago, is held in front of an enthusiastic crowd of thousands of locals and foreign visitors.
Numerous dignitaries attended the event, including the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, and representatives of the Greek government and of the Brazilian delegation headed by the President of the Organizing Committee of the "RIO 2016" Olympic Games Carlos Nuzman.
Giovane Gavio, volleyball Olympic champion, representing Brazil, will be the second torchbearer in the torch relay that will be held across Greece.
The Sacred Flame will be delivered to the Rio Games organizers in a Handover ceremony in Athens on April 27 to continue its trip across the ocean for the XXXI Olympic Games.
