Olympics 2008 News

Greek leg of Olympic torch to go ahead despite economic crisis

By Christine Pirovolakis Mar 26, 2012, 13:47 GMT

Athens - Greece will not have the economic crisis prevent celebrations for the flame lighting ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics, organisers said on Monday after presenting the domestic leg of the torch relay.

'This year the Torch Relay, despite the extreme difficult economic conditions experienced by our country, includes several innovations,' said the head of the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) Spiros Kapralos.

'We believe that in an era of not only an economic crisis but rather a crisis of human and social values, the ideals of Olympism and sport...are ideals that are able to transmit our hope for a better future and the strength to fight for one.'

Greek organisers said this year's relay would probably not have been able to take place without the help and sponsorship of local authorities and private individuals.

The flame for the 2012 London Olympics will be lit in Ancient Olympia on May 10 and will be followed by a week-long relay across Greece, the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) said on Monday.

Greek organisers said this year's relay would probably not have been able to take place without the help and sponsorship of local authorities and private individuals.

The Olympic flame, which will be lit using the sun's rays among the ancient ruins of the home of the ancient Games in Olympia, in southwestern Greece, in the presence of International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

It will be followed by a 3,000km relay before heading to Britain where after a trip across the country the flame will finally light the Olympic cauldron at the July 27 opening ceremony of the London Games.

Spyros Gianniotis, a long-distance swimmer of Greek and British decent will be the first torchbearer after the flame is lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia.

Overall, some 500 torchbearers will take part in the eight-day relay through 43 Greek cities and towns, including traveling by boat from the southern Mediterranean island of Crete to the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

The organising committee said the Greek leg of the torch relay will showcase the natural and historical attractions of the Greek mainland and islands to the world.

The flame will then be handed over to a London 2012 representative during the official Olympic Flame hand-over ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896, in Athens on May 17.

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