The flame that will burn at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris was lit today in ancient Olympia in southern Greece.
Cloudy skies foiled attempts to light the flames in front of Hera's temple in the usual way, when an actress dressed as an ancient Greek priestess used the sun's rays to light a silver torch.
Instead, a backup flame was used, which was lit in the same spot on Monday during the final rehearsal.
Thousands of spectators filled Olympia amid the ruined temples and sports grounds where the ancient Games were held from 776 BC to 393 AD.
Greek rower Stefanos Duskos, gold medalist from Tokyo, will be the first to carry the torch, and then French swimmer Laura Manadou, triple medalist from Athens in 2004, will take over the torch.
The flame will travel from the port of Piraeus on the French three-masted sailing ship Belem, built in 1896. According to the captain of the ship, the flame should arrive in the port of Marseille on May 8.
Bonus video:
