(ATR) The flame for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics is on its way to Switzerland.
Lit in a ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in the center of Athens, the flame will travel Wednesday to Lausanne, host city for the third edition of the Winter YOG. The torch relay begins Sept. 21, spending the next four months travelling through the 26 Swiss cantons.
The ceremony was a variation on the traditional choreographed lighting that takes place in Olympia for the Summer and Wimter Olympics.
Using a parabolic mirror, Xanthi Georgiou, the actress who portrays the High Priestess, lit the flame, She handed it to the first torchbearer, 17 year old skier Christos Marmarellis. The flame was then passed among a series of runners inside the stadium.
Hellenic Olympic Committee President Spyros Capralos handed over the flame to Virginie Faivre, president of the Lausanne 2020 organizing committee.
"Today is the first time that the Olympic flame will come back to Switzerland since the Winter Olympic Games of St. Moritz back in 1948. That’s more than 70 years ago," said Faivre.
"Today, we are not only lighting the Olympic Flame, but we are lighting theOlympic spirit of a whole new generation of young people in Switzerland and around the world. We are so honored be entrusted with this responsibility and look forward to welcoming the youth of the world for an incredible Youth Olympic Games in January," said Faivre.
In his remarks Caapralos, also an IOC member, noted the symbolism of the Olympic flame.
"The birth of the flame and its journey to the host city will send once more a strong and much needed message for peace, solidarity and fraternity to the four corners of the world.
"The lighting of the flame is held this time for a relatively new event, which, nevertheless, already holds a prominent place in the conscience of the global sports community. The Youth Olympic Games, since their inception, have shown to the world that they have indeed fulfilled their mission and have contributed to modernizing the Olympic movement," Capralos said.
Also attending the ceremony, IOC member Danka Bartekova, Swiss Olympic Association president Jürg Stahl, Greek Minister of Tourism Haris Theoharis, Deputy Minister of Sport Lefteris Avgenakis, International Olympic Academy president Isidoros Kouvelos and Honorary IOC member Lambis Nikolaou.
The HOC is already involved with planning for the next Olympic flame ceremony. That comes in March 2020 in Olympia for Tokyo 2020.
Reported by Ed Hula.
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