The much-anticipated lighting ceremony for the Olympic flame that will illuminate the upcoming XXXIII Olympiad this summer in Paris was reverently held on Tuesday at the ancient Olympia site, the iconic spot in the northwest Peloponnese where the athletic and artistic competition began in early antiquity.

The flame will be conveyed to Paris for the 33rd Olympic Games – July 26 to Aug. 11 – in a torch relay throughout Greece before departing by vessel for Marseille, the renowned port city that itself was founded by Greek colonists during antiquity.

The choreographed lighting ceremony again witnessed actresses in the role of ancient Greek high priestesses lighting the flame, using a backup source instead of the usual parabolic mirror to catch and magnify the sun’s rays due to overcast skies.

First torchbearer, 2020 Olympic gold rower Stefanos Douskos hands over the flame for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to French swimmer Laure Manaudou who won her first Olympic title in the 400m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. in Olympia, on April 16, 2024.

President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou represented the Greek state and was accompanied by IOC president Thomas Bach and Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) President Spyros Capralos. The ceremony was hosted by French-Greek entertainer and journalist Nikos Aliagas.

Paris 2024 Olympics – Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony – Ancient Olympia, Greece – April 16, 2024 Greek actress Mary Mina, playing the role of High Priestess, lights the flame during the Olympic Flame lighting ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

“In these difficult times we are living through, with wars and conflicts on the rise, people are fed up with all the hate, the aggression and negative news,” Bach said, while adding: “We are longing for something which brings us together, something that is unifying, something that gives us hope. The Olympic flame that we are lighting today is the symbol of this hope.”

On his part, Capralos, who is also the president of the European Olympic Committees and member of the International Olympic Committee, referred to a “a traditional ceremony full of symbolism and universal messages, the long-awaited journey of the Olympic values around the world has started. A journey in which everyone can participate. Wherever they are, wherever they come from and whatever they stand for.”

Paris 2024 Olympics – Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony – Ancient Olympia, Greece – April 16, 2024 Members of the Presidential Guard stand to attention as the Olympic, French and Greek flags are raised during the Olympic Flame lighting ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympics REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki