The Beijing Olympic flamewas ignited in a traditional sun-ray ceremony at 11:45 on Monday in front of the Hera Temple of ancient Olympia.
Dark clouds over the lighting rehearsalparted as a flawless torch lighting ceremony was held to start an unprecedentedtorch relay in Greece, across five continents and China.
High Priestess Maria Nafpliotou handed over the torch to the first torchbearer Alexandros Nikolaidis, 2004 Olympic silver medalist in taekwondo.
The Olympic Anthem, the National Anthem of the People's Republic of China, the National Anthem of Greece were played and the Olympic Flag, the Chinese Flag and the Greek Flag were hoisted at the lighting ceremony.
Other prominenttorch runners on the first day included 2004 Olympic champion Luo Xuejuan in 100 meters backstroke and Deng Yaping, double table tennis Olympic champion in 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Luo will be the first Chinese to hold the Beijing Olympic flame after taking it from Nikolaidis.
The Olympic flame will be handed over to BOCOG at 3 p.m. on March 30 at the Panathenian Stadium in Athens.
In Greece, the sacredflame will pass through 16 prefectures, 43 municipalities, 12 municipal districts and four communities in the hands of 605 torchbearers. En route, a total of 29 ceremonies will be held to greet the flame.
The torch will be carried over the islands for six days, staying overnight in Mesologi, Ioannina, Vera, Thessaloniki, and Lamia, before it reaches Athens.
The Olympic flame is to arrive in Beijing on March 31. A welcome ceremony will be held at Tian'anmen Square, the heart of the Olympic host city.
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