Paris 2024 Games Flame Lit in Ancient Olympia

The sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics was lit Tuesday in ancient Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Games, for an epic torch relay stretching from the Acropolis to the South Pacific.

Hundreds of spectators gathered to attend the historical ritual in the small Peloponnese town in southwestern Greece where the Olympics were born in 776 BCE, and where the ceremony is held every two years for the summer and winter Olympics.

For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, spectators were allowed to attend the ceremony.

Greek actress Mary Mina brought the Olympic flame into life before handing it to the first torch bearer, 2020 Olympic rowing champion Stefanos Ntouskos.

The ceremony was conducted at the ruins of the 2,600-year-old Temple of Hera, with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach heading the list of dignitaries.

French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took part in the event.