Olympic flame begins journey for Rio 2016 Summer Games (photos)

President Pavlopoulos attended ceremony in Athens marble stadium

The Olympic flame began its journey from Greece to Rio, Brazil in a modest yet imposing ceremony held at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, Wednesday. The holy flame was handed to the ‘Rio 2016’ Organising Committee from the Greek Olympic Committee. After a 7-day relay within Greece the torch will continue its journey across the world before reaching its final destination in Rio, Brazil on August 5. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Hellenic Democracy, Prokopis Pavlopoulos and UNESCO goodwill Ambassador Mariana Vardinoyiannis. Actress Katerina Lechou, who was the high priestess of the chorus, performed a brief ritual before the flame was handed over to the Brazilian delegation.

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The handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame for the XXXI summer Olympic games "Rio 2016" in Athens on April 27, 2016 / Τελετή παράδοσης της Oλυμπιακής φλογας της 31ης Θερινής Ολυμπιάδας στο Ρίο ντε Τζανέιρο στην Αθήνα στις 27 Απριλίου, 2016.

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The handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame for the XXXI summer Olympic games "Rio 2016" in Athens on April 27, 2016 / Τελετή παράδοσης της Oλυμπιακής φλογας της 31ης Θερινής Ολυμπιάδας στο Ρίο ντε Τζανέιρο στην Αθήνα στις 27 Απριλίου, 2016.

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The handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame for the XXXI summer Olympic games "Rio 2016" in Athens on April 27, 2016 / Τελετή παράδοσης της Oλυμπιακής φλογας της 31ης Θερινής Ολυμπιάδας στο Ρίο ντε Τζανέιρο στην Αθήνα στις 27 Απριλίου, 2016

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