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France 24
France 24
Politics
FRANCE 24

Paris 2024 Olympic flame lit at ancient birthplace of the Games

Actress Mary Mina (R), playing the high priestess, lights a torch during the official ceremony of the flame lighting for the Paris Olympics at the ancient Olympia site in Greece on April 16, 2024. © Thanassis Stavrakis, AP

The sacred flame for the Paris 2024 Olympics was lit Tuesday in Greece’s ancient Olympia, birthplace of the ancient Games, kicking off an epic torch relay stretching from the Acropolis to the South Pacific.

Greek actress Mary Mina, playing the role of high priestess, lit the torch using a backup flame instead of a parabolic mirror due to cloudy skies for the start of a relay in Greece and France. The relay will culminate with the lighting of the Olympic flame in the French capital at the opening ceremony. 

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