Thursday, 21 April 2016
The count-down to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is officially on as the Olympic flame was lit in the Greek city of Olympia, the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games.
Greek actress Katerina Lechou (pictured below) performed the role of the Greek high priestess when she lit the traditional flame at Olympia’s Temple of Hera.
The flame will be being handed over to Rio 2016 organisers on 27 April after a tour around Greece.
On 3 May, the Olympic Torch Relay will officially start in the capital city of Brazil, Brasilia, embarking on a 95-day tour around the country.
The Olympic flame will visit 83 cities, including the 26 state capitals, and will pass through 500 towns, with 300 hosting the relay and another 200 watching the convoy go by.
The relay will reach an estimated 90 per cent of Brazil’s population and will cover 20,000km of the country by road and 16,000km by air over the north and mid-west.
Approximately 12,000 torchbearers will carry the torch for roughly 200 metres each, before passing the Olympic flame on to the next torchbearer.
The Olympic Torch Relay will conclude on 5 August when the last torchbearer will light the Olympic cauldron during the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony at the Maracanã Stadium.
The 2016 Rio Olympics Sevens tournament will be hosted at the Deodoro Stadium between 6 – 11 August.
Source: Olympic.org
Image Credit: CCTV
