London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay: The lighting ceremony in Olympia

With just 78 days until the London 2012 Games begin and under sunny skies, the Olympic flame has been lit in Ancient Olympia during a ceremony organized by the Hellenic Olympic Committee. The flame was created using the sun s rays and a parabolic mirror by the high Priestess Ino Menegaki at the Temple of Hera. It was then carried into the Ancient Olympic Stadium in a choreographed procession before being used to light the torch of the first torchbearer Britishborn Greek open water swimming world champion and threetime Olympian Spyros Gianniotis. The flame will now be taken on an eightday relay around Greece before being handed over to the London 2012 Organising Committee during a ceremony in Athens at the Panathenaic stadium, ahead of it being taken back to Great Britain, where the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay presented by CocaCola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung gets underway on 19 May.