The Olympic Flame for Rio, will pass through the Open Reception Centre for Refugees in Eleonas, Athens and a refugee will symbolically carry the Flame as a Torchbearer.

The President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach revealed the information, having accepted with great enthusiasm the proposal of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and President Spyros Capralos, for the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay, which will start immediately after the Lighting ceremony of the Olympic Flame on April 21, for the Rio Olympic Games.
“I am particularly grateful to the Hellenic Olympic Committee and President Spyros Capralos for a highly symbolical initiative. The Lighting of the Olympic Flame will take place in Ancient Olympia, at the end of April and traditionally the first leg of the Torch Relay follows in Greece. The HOC has taken the initiative to have the Flame pass through the Open Reception Centre for Refugees, so that all the refugees can see it. In addition, a refugee will carry the Flame as a Torchbearer, totally in line with the policy followed by the IOC with the refugees in the Olympic Games. Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic anthem.
They will parade behind the Olympic flag, they will be accepted in the Olympic village together will all the other countries and they will be hosted there. This way, we wish to attract the whole world’s attention to those refugees” Thomas Bach said during his visit at the Open Reception Centre for Refugees in Eleonas.
Apart from the HOC President, President Bach was also accompanied by Jacques Rogge IOC Honorary President and Special Envoy for Youth Refugees and Sport appointed by United Nations Secretary-General, Philippe Leclerc Acting Representative of UNHCR Greece, Giannis Mouzalas Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy, Spyros Capralos HOC President, Giorgos Kaminis Mayor of Athens and Spyros Galinos Mayor of Lesvos.
Apart from the issue of the refugees’ participation in the Torch Relay, the HOC, following the program of the International Olympic Committee to embrace the drama of these people, will build a stadium at Lesbos Hot Spot.
Regarding these initiatives as well as the courts built by the Hellenic Olympic Committee at the Open Reception Center in Eleonas providing sport equipment, the IOC President, Thomas Bach said:
“We are here today to show our support and appreciation for everything Greece has done in a difficult time for the whole world. We are also here to express solidarity to the refugees who suffer and this is an emotional visit for all of us.
The sporting facilities that you see here today built by the HOC, is an example of IOC’s actions. With these facilities we seek to make refugees feel the joy of life, to eliminate aggression and strengthen their faith for the future. For this reason, I want to express my personal thanks to the HOC President, Spyros Capralos for the excellent cooperation we have and the result of this will be to build a sporting facility at the Lesvos “hotspot”.
The HOC President, Spyros Capralos, highlighted that the HOC will continue to express solidarity to the refugees. “Greece enters the Olympic Stadium first during the Opening Ceremony, therefore, the HOC wants to be the first to show solidarity to the refugees. This is why we contributed to this Open Reception Center providing sport equipment as President Bach mentioned. This is only the beginning as we will continue to do much more in order to show support”.
The Olympic Movement dignitaries, after having expressed their sympathy to refugees, they had the opportunity to speak with them, learn about the difficulties they went through, listen to their concerns and visited their little houses. President Thomas Bach took the opportunity to play football with them at the football pitch built by the HOC with the financial assistance of the IOC.

The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, visited the Panathenaic Stadium just before concluding his three-day visit to Greece, accompanied by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Spyros Capralos. They were escorted by the President of the European Olympic Committees, Patrick Hickey and a delegation of the Hellenic Olympic Winners Association, the President Voula Kozompoli, Voula Zygouri, Angeliki Karapataki and Giorgos Koutsioumpas.
Mr. Bach was offered a tour guide at the stadium, where the Olympic Games were revived in 1896 and attended the programme “I love sports – Kids’ Athletics” which is addressed to primary school students and gives them the opportunity to get acquainted with athletics, basketball and volleyball.
The IOC President spoke to the children of the 46th Primary School of Athens who participated in the program and did not hesitate to test his strength in athletics along with the students.
At the end he was photographed with the children, he offered them all a commemorative gift, a badge with the five Olympic rings and did not hide his enthusiasm:
 
“It has been a fantastic experience, coming here at the Panathenaic Stadium, where it all started for the Modern Olympic Games. And it has become even better, by sharing this feeling with the next generation of athletes. I saw in their eyes how they felt for sport and the Olympic experience they lived. I wish to thank and congratulate the Hellenic Olympic Committee and President Spyros Capralos for the implementation of the program, which puts the Olympic spirit into action” the IOC President stressed.
The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, after thanking Thomas Bach for his kind words, added: “It is very important for us to welcome President Bach at the Panathenaic Stadium and present the “I love sport – Kids’ Athletics” program, in which, since 2010, more than 105.000 pupils have participated from over 1500 schools of our country. “For us, at the Hellenic Olympic Committee, what makes us happy is the joy on the children’s faces and their comments on the Stadium’s visitors’ book” Spyros Capralos commented.

The Hellenic Team is flying to Lillehammer, Norway, in order to participate in the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The delegation consists of three athletes, Nikos Tsourekas (cross country) Nikos Mavridis (biathlon) and Anastasia Mantsiou (alpine skiing). They are accompanied by Kyriakos Xanthis and Michalis Zouraris (trainers) and the HOC technical advisor Stratos Karetos. The Chef de Mission of the Hellenic Delegation and member of the HOC Plenary Session Vassilis Katsoras is already in Lillehammer. The athlete Panagiota Tsakiri is the Young Ambassador of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the Secretary General will also travel to Lillehammer.
The Winter Youth Olympic Games are opening on Friday, February 12 and are closing on February 21. In the Games the athletes participating come from all around the world and are 14-18 years old.
For the first time in history, there will be live feed of the Games, through the IOC youtube channel: www.youtube.com/Olympics

Vaso Vougiouka is the latest Greek athlete who has qualified for Rio Olympics. Untill today, Greece has reached the 54 athletes who have secured their qualification for the Olympic Games "Rio 2016".

The athletes are:

Athletics 14

Kostas Filippidis ( pole vault )
Katerina Stefanidou ( pole vault )
Nicole Kyriakopoulou ( pole vault )
Lycourgos Tsakonas (200m )
Maria Belimpasaki (200m )
Antonis Mastoras (high jump)
Kostas Baniotis (high jump)
Kostas Douvalidis (110m hurdles)
Alexandros Papamichail (50 km, 20 km walking )
Antigoni Ntrismpioti (20 km walking )
Despina Zapounidou (20 km walking )
Chrisoula Anagnostopoulou (discus)
Sofia Riga (marathon )
Rania Rempouli (marathon)
Christoforos Merousis (marathon)
Paraskevi Papachristou (triple jump)

Swimming 8

Cristian Gkolomeev (50m, 100m Freestyle )
Stefanos Dimitriadis (200m Butterfly )
Odysseas Meladinis (50m Freestyle)
Andreas Vazaios (200m Individual medley )
Panagiotis Samilidis (200 m Breaststroke )
Nora Drakou (50m Freestyle)
Spyros Gianniotis (10km Marathon swimming)
Kelly Araouzou (10km Marathon swimming)

Waterpolo 13
Men National Team

Sailing 5
Viron Kokkalanis (RS:X)
Gelly Skarlatou (RS:X)
Pavlos Kagialis - Panagiotis Mantis ( 470 )
Giannis Mitakis ( Fin )

Shooting 2
Anna Korakakis ( air pistol )
Makis Mittas ( skeet )

Fencing 1
Vassiliki Vougiouka

Rowing 6
Katerina Nicolaidou - Sophia Asoumanaki ( women's double sculls )
Giannis Christou, Giorgos Tziallas , Dionysios Angelopoulos, Giannis Tsilis ( men 's four )

Gymnastics 2
Lefteris Petrounias (artistic gymnastics )
Varvara Filiou (rhythmic gymnastics)

Cycling 1
GiannisTamouridis ( road cycling)

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) created a team of Refugee Olympic Athletes for the Olympic Games Rio 2016. It will be treated at the Olympic Games like all the other teams of the 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs).
The EB also approved the operational aspects surrounding Team ROA.

The name of the team will be Team Refugee Olympic Athletes;
Team ROA will get its own welcome ceremony at the Olympic Village, like all other teams;
The team will be housed like all the other teams;
A team entourage will be appointed by the IOC to meet all the required technical needs of the athletes, including: Chef de Mission, coaches and technical officials (as per official quotas);
The team uniforms will be provided by the IOC;
For all official representations of the team (including possible medal ceremonies), the Olympic flag will be raised and the Olympic Anthem will be played;
The team will march behind the Olympic flag before host team Brazil at the Opening Ceremony;
An adequate insurance policy will be contracted;
A proper doping control process will be introduced through the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA); and
Olympic Solidarity will cover travel and other participation expenses for the team and will continue to support the athletes of the team after the Olympic Games.
As part of the IOC’s pledge to aid potential elite athletes affected by the worldwide refugee crisis, the NOCs were asked to identify any refugee athlete with the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Such candidates could then receive funding from Olympic Solidarity to assist with their preparations and qualification efforts.

Forty-three promising candidates have been identified, whom the IOC is now assisting. In view of the complexity of the process and in order to allow sufficient time to finalise and consolidate all the necessary information about these candidates, the EB decided today to close the call for new candidatures. Only under exceptional circumstances requiring the approval of the IOC President will new candidates be considered.

“By welcoming the team of Refugee Olympic Athletes to the Olympic Games Rio 2016, we want to send a message of hope for all refugees in our world,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “Having no national team to belong to, having no flag to march behind, having no national anthem to be played, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and with the Olympic Anthem. They will have a home together with all the other 11,000 athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees in the Olympic Village.”

The ROA team for Rio 2016 is expected to number between five and 10 athletes. The participating athletes and the other members of the ROA team will be named by the IOC Executive Board at its next meeting in June this year. The nomination criteria include sporting level, official refugee status verified by the United Nations, and personal situation and background.

Following the approval of Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, and in light of the current global refugee crisis, the IOC created a special fund of USD 2 million to develop relief projects through sport in collaboration with NOCs around the world.

Over 15 NOCs have already made use of this fund. Details of some of the projects under way can be found here and here.

The IOC already works with a number of United Nations agencies to help refugees around the world. For the last 20 years, the IOC and UNHCR in particular have been using sport to support healing and development among young refugees in many camps and settlements around the world. They have consequently seen thousands of refugees benefit from sports programmes and equipment donated by the IOC.

The Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame for the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games were presented today in a Press Conference held at the Atrium of the Panathenaic Stadium.

The HOC President Spyros Capralos along with the Chairman of the Olympic Torch Relay Commission Giannis Karras and the Choreographer of both ceremonies Artemis Ignatiou, spoke about the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies and the elements they include. Furthermore, they presented the route of the Olympic Flame from Ancient Olympia, where it will be lit on April 21, towards the Panathenaic Stadium, where the Handover ceremony will take place on April 27 at 17:00.

On its journey, the Flame will cross the majority of the Greek territory, including islands like Zante and Corfu. In the Framework of the Press Conference, the support programme for the Hellenic Olympic Team named “HELLAS YOU CAN DO IT” was also presented, with the famous Greek singer Sakis Rouvas as head of the programme. The High Priestess Katerina Lehou also attended the event, while two of the priestesses presented the new dresses and sandals that will be worn at the Lighting and Handover ceremonies.

The detailed route for the Torch Relay for Rio Olympics in Greece

1^stDay– 21/04/2016

2^nd Day– 22/04/2016

3^rd Day– 23/04/2016

4^th Day– 24/04/2016

5^th Day– 25/04/2016

6^th Day– 26/04/2016

7^th Day– 27/04/2016

Introducing the colours of the Greek landscape in the internal pleats, light turquoise and light blue in combination with the olive green, referencing the Greek seas and olive tree, the dresses of the priestesses for the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame, where redesigned.

“My primary goal was staying true to the core concept and fully entering the ancient Greek spirit, thus by making the magical moment where the world is taken on a journey to the sacred site, as enchanting as possible” says the costumier Eleni Kyriacou. When the priestesses are standing motionless all dresses appear the same as only the external pleats are visible. They all appear in a light turquoise colour. When the dancers are in motion, the internal pleats open revealing colour variations. A total of 150 kilos of Merino wool was used to make 85 costumes. Each one weighs between 1.2 to 1.8 kilos.

The programme of the Lighting Ceremony for Rio Olympics on the 21st of April in Ancient Olympia:

12:00 - Opening of the Ceremony
- Olympic Circles: a synthesis
12:07 - Olympic Anthem – Hoisting of the Olympic Flag
- National Anthem of Brazil – Hoisting of the Brazilian Flag
12:11 - National Anthem of Greece – Hoisting of the Greek Flag
- “The Light of Olympia”, Takis Doxas’ poem recited by Yiannis Stankoglou
- Address by the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Mr. Efthymios Kotzas
- Address by the President of the “RIO 2016” Organising Committee, Mr Carlos Nuzman
- Address by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr Thomas Bach
12:23 - Address by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Spyros Capralos
12:26 - Entry of the designated officials in the Temple of Hera
12:32 - Ritual of the Lighting Ceremony at the Temple of Hera
- Entry of the High Priestess and the Priestesses into the Ancient Stadium with the Olympic Flame
- Dance performance by the Priestesses
12:50 - Handing over of the Olympic Flame by the High Priestess to the first Torchbearer
- Departure of the first Torchbearer for the Pierre de Coubertin Monument
- Opening of the Olympic Torch Relay

The world champion in artistic gymnastics, Lefteris Petrounias, was elected by the Hellenic Olympic Committee to be the first Torchbearer of the Olympic Torch Relay ahead of the “Rio 2016” Olympic Games. Petrounias will receive the Olympic Flame from the High Priestess, Katerina Lehou, during the Lighting Ceremony for the Rio Olympics, which will be held on 21st April, in Ancient Olympia.

The Greek athlete will pass the Flame to the second Torchbearer who is the former volleyball player Giovane Gávio from Brazil. Petrounias, born on November, 30, 1990 is reigning champion on the still rings. In 2015, he won gold medals at the World Championship in Glasgow, at the European Championship in Montpellier and at the 1st European Games in Baku. He was also named best athlete of the year 2015 by the Pan-Hellenic Association of Sport Press. He has qualified for the “Rio 2016” Olympic Games, while he will compete for the first time in his career, in Olympic Games.

Giovane Gávio is a Brazilian volleyball player, voted world player of the year in 1993. He is a two-time Olympic champion (Barcelona 1992 and Athens 2004), four-time World League winner (1993, 2001, 2003, 2004); two-time European Champions League winner (1993 and 1994); 2002 World Champion; and Brazilian beach volleyball champion in 1998. He was also voted the world’s best blocker in 1989, and the planet’s best striker in 2003.

The Flame for the Olympic Games “Rio 2016” will be lit on Thursday, April 21, at 12:00 in Ancient Olympia, in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
The sacred Light of Olympism will be “born” in the hands of the High Priestess, Katerina Lehou who will then pass the Flame to the first torchbearer, the World Champion in gymnastics, Lefteris Petrounias.
The second torchbearer will be the former volleyball player, Giovane Gávio who will represent Brazil.
The choreography of the ceremony which is organised by the Hellenic Olympic Committee, is inspired by the choreographer Artemis Ignatius, the music is composed by Yiannis Psimadas while the performers are 29 Priestesses, 13 male dancers and four Maidens.
The rehearsal took place today under excellent weather conditions, sunshine and was absolutely successful.
The dress rehearsal will be held tomorrow, on Wednesday, April 20, at 12.00 and will be open to the public.

Find below the programme of the lighting ceremony of the Olympic Flame:

Thursday, April 21, 2016

12:00 - Opening of the Ceremony
- Olympic Circles: a synthesis
12:07 - Olympic Anthem – Hoisting of the Olympic Flag
- National Anthem of Brazil – Hoisting of the Brazilian Flag
12:11 - National Anthem of Greece – Hoisting of the Greek Flag
- “The Light of Olympia”, Takis Doxas’ poem recited by Yiannis Stankoglou
- Address by the Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Mr. Efthymios Kotzas
- Address by the President of the “RIO 2016” Organising Committee, Mr Carlos Nuzman
- Address by the President of the International Olympic Committee, Mr Thomas Bach
12:23 - Address by the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Mr Spyros Capralos
12:26 - Entry of the designated officials in the Temple of Hera
12:32 - Ritual of the Lighting Ceremony at the Temple of Hera
- Entry of the High Priestess and the Priestesses into the Ancient Stadium
with the Olympic Flame
- Dance performance by the Priestesses
12:50 - Handing over of the Olympic Flame by the High Priestess to the first Torchbearer
- Departure of the first Torchbearer for the Pierre de Coubertin Monument
- Opening of the Olympic Torch Relay

The Dress Rehearsal for the Lighting Ceremony of the Olympic Flame for the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games was successfully held. The Flame was lit by the sunrays, in perfect weather conditions, in the hands of the High Priestess Katerina Lehou, in front of thousands of visitors and children from schools of Ilia, who attended the Dress Rehearsal.

The Lighting of the Flame was followed by the ritual of the dance of the Priestesses, a choreography of Artemis Ignatiou, on music of the composer Giannis Psimadas. At the end of the ceremony, the Hellenic Olympic Committee awarded the High Priestess, the Choreographer, the composer, the Priestesses and all the Lighting Ceremony team for their invaluable contribution. Many media representatives from all over the world attended the Dress Rehearsal coming from the bigger networks of the world and 20 countries in total.

Everything is ready for tomorrow’s Official Ceremony (Thursday, April 21, 12.00) for the Rio Olympic Games, in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, representatives of the Hellenic government and of the Brazilian delegation, headed by the President of the Organizing Committee of the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games Carlos Nuzman. Lefteris Petrounias, world champion in gymnastics will be the first torchbearer and Giovane Gávio, volleyball Olympic champion, representing Brazil will be the second torchbearer. According to the weather forecast the weather conditions are expected to remain the same with high temperatures and clear sky.

The IOC President, Thomas Bach, paid tribute to Baron Pierre de Coubertin this afternoon, in Ancient Olympia, one day before the lighting of the Olympic Flame for the O.G. "Rio 2016". The IOC President visited the monument of the man who founded the modern Olympic Games and laid wreath, together with the IOC Vice Presidents, Nawal El Moutavakel, Zaiqing Yu and the President of the Organizing Committee of “Rio 2016” and the IOC member, Carlos Nuzman.

Members of the executive board of the Hellenic Olympic Committee consisting of the President Spyros Capralos, the Secretary General, Manolis Katsiadakis, the President of the International Olympic Academy, Isidoros Kouvelos and the honorary IOC member Lambis Nikolaou were also present. Earlier, the Honorary Dean of the International Olympic Academy Konstantinos Georgiadis, spoke about Pierre de Coubertin’s work and his passion for Ancient Olympia.

Then the Choreographer of the Flame Artemis Ignatiou, symbolically planted an olive tree in the memory of the legendary choreographer Maria Hors, who died in September 2015. Artemis Ignatiou said: "I hope she is looking down right now being proud of us." The ceremony was attended by the High Priestess Katerina Lehou and all Priestesses.

See LIVE at 12:00 the Lighting Ceremony for Rio Olympics, from Ancient Olympia!

The Olympic light is born again on the sacred land of ancient Olympia and has begun its journey for the Olympic Games “RIO 2016”.
During the Lighting ceremony, that was successfully organized by the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the Olympic Flame was lit by the sunrays in the hands of the High Priestess Katerina Lehou, a ceremony honored by the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic as well as the President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach.
The High Priestess passed the Flame to the first torchbearer, world champion in gymnastics, Lefteris Petrounias, who opened the Torch Relay for Rio. Giovane Gavio, Olympic medalist in volleyball representing Brasil, was the second torchbearer.
The ritual of the dance of the priestesses, inspired by the choreographer Artemis Ignatiou, was presented to the musical composition of Giannis Psimadas. The priestesses and the dancers impressed the audience, wearing traditional costumes designed by Eleni Kyriakou.
Thousands of people from Greece and abroad watched the Lighting Ceremony and applauded the performers who excelled themselves.
The minister of the Interior Panagiotis Kouroublis, the Minister for Sport Stavros Kontonis, the IOC Vice Presidents, Nawal El Moutawakel, Zaiqing Yu, the IOC honorary member Lambis Nikolaou, the President of the Organizing Committee of “Rio 2016” and the IOC member, Carlos Nuzman, the HOC Secretary General Manolis Katsiadakis, the President of the International Olympic Academy Isidoros Kouvelos, the deputy of the Greek Parliament, Dora Bakoyianni, the President of the Union of Centrists, Vassilis Leventis and many HOC members.
The 1st torchbearer, Lefteris Petrounias, after passing the flame to the 2nd torchbearer, said: "This is the biggest moment in my career and I feel very proud. I want to thank the Hellenic Olympic Committee for this honour and all the Greeks for the warm welcome. I hope live up to their expectations and make everyone happy in Rio”.
In his speech, the IOC President Thomas Bach underlined: “The Flame is an ancient symbol of peace and harmony, a symbol of the power of humanity to come together despite our differences. This will be the legacy of the Olympic Games for Brazil and for the world. The torch relay will spread the message of our shared humanity to all people of the beautiful country of Brazil, a nation that is built on the idea that its strength comes from uniting all of its cultural richness. Brazil is unique in its diversity. Let the celebration of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in this vast and wonderful country show the world the true meaning of unity in diversity.”
The President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos said: “This Flame is the strongest bond bringing together the games of antiquity with the games of the modern era. It sends messages from the older times which remain most contemporary even today.
In the course of thousand years of humanity, what has remained unchanged is the constant appeal of sport and the timeless values of Olympism.
These values go beyond people, history and borders; today, they are more significant than ever before, especially for the youth, our hope for the future and those to whom you addressed yourself, Mr President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, with the renewal of the Olympic movement through the Agenda 2020.
The Flame holds a very special place within the heart of Greek people. We feel that it carries along its long journey a piece of our home country. Its very special messages will be sent with the Torch Relay, about to start very soon from Greece and carry on in Brazil.”
On behalf of the organizing city, Carlos Nuzman said: The fundamental meaning of the Olympic Games is the lesson that there are no rights or wrongs when we work for the generations to come. No one can build the future alone. We are humbly grateful to President Bach and the International Olympic Committee for their guidance, their help and their support. The contribution of every single person in the IOC - staff, honorary members and members - was vital. And we thank them for being with us through this amazing journey. They believed in dream and they later helped us to build it
We are here, for the kindness and the hard work of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. The more we come to Greece, the more we feel at home. Thank you my friends. The Mayor of Ancient Olympia, Efthymios Kotzas, said in his speech: “Today, more than ever before, at a time where wars still leave people without a country and athletes without a flag, the message of the Olympic Games for peace and brotherhood among people, is substantial and compelling.
History’s challenges did not blow out the Olympic Flame. The revival of the games 120 years ago opened a new chapter for humanity, a hopeful prospective for every human being on this planet”.

The Olympic Flame was warmly welcomed, during the first day of the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay. After the Lighting ceremony in Ancient Olympia the sacred light headed to Pyrgos where the cauldron was lit by the junior world record man in pole vault, Emmouil Karalis.

The young athlete received the warm applause of hundreds of students. Then the torch relay passed from Amaliada, then the site of ancient Ilida were a beautiful ceremony took place. The relay continued to Lechaina, Kyllini and traveled by ferry to the Ionian island of Zakynthos. Thousands of people welcomed the Flame carrying Greek and Brazilian flags. Tomorrow, in the second day of the torch relay, the Flame will start its journey from Zakynthos, to Patras, Astakos, Mesolonghi, Nikopoli and will arrive to Preveza.

See videos from the he 2nd day of the Torch Relay in Greece, for Rio Olympics.

The Olympic Flame in Patras

The Olympic Flame in Mesolonghi.

Τhe Olympic Flame in Nikopolis

The Olympic Flame in Preveza

On April, 26, Ibrahim Al Hussein will carry the Olympic flame in Athens as part of the Greek leg of the torch relay for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He is a recognised refugee-athlete who arrived in Greece in 2014.
For more information about Ibrahim please click tracks.unhcr.org, (English) or www.unhcr.gr (Greek)
Tuesday, April 26, journalists and television crews will have access to the Open Reception Center in Eleonas, in order to cover the refugee who will run as a Torchbearer.
Those interested in participating must send an email to the Hellenic Olympic Committee until Monday at 12:00 in press@hoc.gr giving name, ID or passport number and their media organisation to get permission.

MEDIA INFORMATION
Tuesday, April 26, journalists and television crews will have access to the Open Reception Center in Eleonas, in order to cover the refugee who will run as a Torchbearer.
Those interested in participating must send an email to the Hellenic Olympic Committee until Monday at 12:00 in press@hoc.gr giving name, ID or passport number and their media organisation to get permission.

On the second day of the torch relay on Greek territory the journey of the Olympic Flame for the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games began from the beautiful island of Zakynthos. Patra was the next station where the cauldron was lit by the marathon runner Sofia Riga who has qualified for the Rio Olympics.

The Flame was passed over to Nora Drakou, athlete of swimming who has also secured her participation. The Olympic Light arrived in Mesolonghi where the citizens once again warmly welcomed the symbol of Olympism.

Astakos followed and then Lefkada where hundreds of small children, carrying small flags of Greece and Brazil, run behind the torch bearers. The Flame crossed the archaeological site of NIkopoli before arriving in Preveza where it was again warmly welcomed and will remain overnight.

See videos from the he 3rd day (Saturday 24/4) of the Torch Relay in Greece, for Rio Olympics.

The Olympic Flame in Igoumenitsa

Τhe Olympic Flame in Corfu