The Flame Touch ceremony for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which will take place in four months in Beijing, was successfully completed on Monday afternoon in Ancient Olympia, despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
In the presence of the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, the traditional ceremony took place under the bright sun and a clear blue sky in the heart of Ilia, but people did not watch it beyond the relatively limited number of officials.
In addition, the classic torchlight procession throughout Greece will not take place this year, with the Olympic Flame traveling the same day to Athens and being delivered to the Chinese organizers on Tuesday at a ceremony at the Panathinaiko Stadium.
There was no shortage of supporters, however, with three protesters storming the site of the ancient stadium with a Tibetan flag and trying to unfurl a banner reading "No to the Genocide Struggle." The two women and a man were evacuated by police, who also prevented four other protesters from entering the stadium an hour before the ceremony, who were also protesting against Chinese practices.
Photo: Reuters / Costas Baltas
The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics is scheduled for February 4, 2022 in Beijing, making, as Mr. Bach pointed out in his speech, the Chinese capital the first city in history to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
With information from Reuters
kathimerini.gr
