The Olympic Torch is on its way

The rays of the Greek sunshine, reflected in a parabolic mirror in front of the Temple of Hera, lit the Olympic torch and it started its journey to London yesterday.

Photo:   AAP

The torch was lit by an actress playing the role of a High Priestess in the ancient Olympia stadium, birthplace of the original Games.  It will now journey over 2,000 miles around Greece and the islands before arriving at Land’s End in Cornwall on May 18th, to begin its 70 day tour around the UK..

The flame, an Olympic symbol meant to represent purity, was placed in an urn then transferred to the first torchbearer, Spyros Gianniotis who is a Liverpool-born Greek long distance swimming world champion. After running through the stadium with torch in one hand and an olive branch in the other, he then handed it over to Alex Loukas, the first British torchbearer.  Alex is a 19 years old boxer from Newham in London and was part of the youth delegation who travelled to Singapore in 2005 as part of London’s final bid for the Games.