(Photo : Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
Greek actress Mary Mina, playing the role of the High Priestess, carries the torch during the flame lighting ceremony for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the Ancient Olympia archeological site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece on April 16, 2024 in Olympia, Greece.
The ceremony of the lighting of the Olympic Flame took place on Tuesday in Ancient Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic games in Greece and the spiritual heart of the modern Olympics.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach were among the dignitaries attending the ceremony.
Mary Mina portrayed the role of the high priestess this year. Artemis Ignatiou, who herself played the role of priestess, rose to the role of high priestess in 2006 and as a choreographer in 2008, choreographed the dance and movements of the women portraying the ancient priestesses.
Cloudy skies prevented the traditional lighting, the Associated Press reported. Instead, she used a backup flame that had been lit on the same spot Monday, during the final rehearsal.
The Hellenic Olympic Committee confirmed on Monday that Greece's 2020 Olympics rowing champion Stefanos Douskos would be the first torchbearer, with retired French swimmer Laure Manaudou, who won her first gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as the second torchbearer in Olympia.
