ATHENS -- Minos Kyriakou, the president of Hellenic Olympic Committee, handed the Olympic flame over to Liu Qi, the president of BOCOG, at the Panathenan Stadium on Sunday afternoon after the six-day torch relay in Greece wrapped up.
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| Chinese Olympic Committee President Liu Qi (R) holds the torch with Olympic flame during the handover ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic flame at the Panathenian stadium site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896 March 30, 2008. [Agencies] |
The flame is to arrive in Beijing on Monday, initiating the month-long international Olympic flame "journey of harmony" throughout the world.
The handover ceremony started at 3:00pm, four bannermen from China and Greece each carried the national flags into the Panathenian Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games was staged in 1896.
The national anthems was performed by Philharmonic Band of the City of Athens.
The priestesses, all wearing pleated white dresses and sandals, entered the Stadium to practise Greek ancient rituals. Chrysopigi Devetzi, the silver medallist of triple jump in 2004 Games, was honored to act as the last torchbearer of Greece relay, running into the Stadium holding the flame and lighted the altar.
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The Olympic flame was handed over to Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games March 30, 2008. [CCTV]
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