The Olympic Flame for the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games has arrived in Macedonia, Northern Greece, at the end of the third day of the torch relay on Greek territory. The cauldron was set up at the White Tower after the torch relay in Thessaloniki, where thousands of people rushed to see the Olympic symbol.

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The third day of the torch relay began from Preveza and continued to Igoumenitsa, where the cauldron was lit by the Olympic champion in rowing in the London Olympics Alexandra Tsiavou, who run under an arch made of puddles held by young rowers. The Flame then moved on to Corfu, where the cauldron was lit by the gymnastics Olympic champion in the Sydney Olympics Maria Georgatou.

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In Ioannina the cauldron was lit by the former football player of the national team Giourkas Seitaridis Veria was the next stop, where people watched the handball player Dimitris Batis lighting the cauldron. On Sunday, fourth day of the torch relay, the Olympic Flame will go through Toumba and the Olympic Museum of Thessaloniki and will then continue to Serres, Chryso, Drama, Kavala and stay in Alexandroupoli overnight.

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See videos from the 4th day (Sunday 24/4) of the Torch Relay in Greece, for Rio Olympics. From Thessaloniki to Alexandroupolis.

The Olympic Flame in Toumba (Thessaloniki)

The Olympic Flame in Serres

 Τhe Olympic Flame in Alexandroupolis 

Τhe Olympic Flame in Kavala

The Olympic Flame in Drama

Thousands of Greeks warmly welcomed the Olympic Flame on the 4th day of the Greek leg of the Olympic Torch Relay.
The Fame will stay overnight in Alexandroupolis where the citizens’ welcome was truly impressive.
Before arriving in Alexandroupoli, the Flame crossed the town of Kavala were the was attended by swimming champions such as Spyros Gianniotis, Kelly Araouzou and their trainer Nikos Gemelos who are preparing for the Rio Olympics.
In the town of Serres, the cauldron was lit by the wrestling athlete, Apostolos Taskoudis while in Drama the cauldron was lit by the shooting champion Anna Korakaki, who has high hopes for the Olympic Games. The champions from Drama Kostas Douvalidis (athletics) and Panagiota Tsakiri (skiing) were also torchbearers.
The next stop was Chrysso village where the national basketball team player Giorgos Karagoutis ran as a torchbearer.
The next day, the Flame departed early from Thessaloniki, passing through the Olympic museum and then Toumba where the 2nd Vice President of the HOC Thanasis Vasileiadis lit the cauldron.
On April 25, the 5th day of the torch relay, the Flame will depart from Alexandroupoli, crossing the towns of Komotini, Xanthi, Katerini amd will arrive in Larissa.

See videos from the 5th day (Μonday 25/4) of the Torch Relay in Greece, for Rio Olympics. From Alexandroupolis to Larissa.

The Olympic Flame in Larissa

Τhe Olympic Flame in Katerini

The Olympic Flame in Komotini

The Olympic Flame in Xanthi

The Olympic Flame continued its journey, on the 5th day of the Torch relay. On Wednesday, April 27, at 17.00 the Flame will be handed over to the Brazilian delegation at the Panathenaic Stadium. The President of the Hellenic Republic will attend the ceremony.

On Tuesday, April 26, at 19.20 the Olympic Flame will cross the Open Reception Center for refugees in Elaionas where the HOC President Spyros Capralos will pass the Flame to the Syrian refugee Ibrahim Al Hussein, in a symbolic gesture which is meant to show solidarity with the world’s refugees hoping for a better future. Later, the Olympic Flame will arrive in the Acropolis museum where it will stay overnight.

On the 5th day of the torch relay, the Flame departed from Alexandroupoli, then crossed the towns of Komotini, Xanthi, Katerini and arrived in Larissa where it will stay overnight.

The Olympic Flame, from the Acropolis Museum sends its glow to the whole world, together with its special symbolism, after the completion of the sixth day of the torch relay on Greek territory.
The cauldron at the Acropolis Museum, where the Flame will remain overnight, was lit by the Secretary General of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Manolis Katsiadakis. The sacred light had crossed the Acropolis in the hands of the Olympic champion Pyrros Dimas, Voula Kozomboli, Georgia Ellinaki, Aggeliki Karapataki, Evi Moraitidou, Virginia Kravarioti and Nikos Deligiannis. The President of the International Olympic Academy Isidoros Kouvelos carried the Olympic Flame at Dionysiou Areopagitou street. He was followed by Sakis Rouvas, who is the ambassador of the event that will be held on Wednesday at the Panathenaic Stadium.
Extremely symbolic was also the moment when the Syrian refugee Ibrahim Al Hussein took the Olympic Flame from the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Carpalos at the Open Reception Centre for Refugees in Eleonas, sending a message of support to all the people who have left their home countries because of the war, in search of a better and safer future.
The Syrian refugee, speaking to hundreds of journalists who showed great interest in this symbolic moment, said: “I’ve been practicing sports for 22 years, but this has been the top moment for me. I am very happy and wish to thank all Greeks for this great honour. I feel Greek and hope that maybe I can compete in the Olympics with the Greek team. What I want to tell to the refugees is that, like I do, they can also continue their lives and do many different things.”
The HOC President Spyros Capralos, who stood by him all the time, stated: “It is a great moment for Olympism and for the refugees. The symbolism of Imbrahim carrying the Olympic Flame sent a message towards all directions for the drama of these people. I wish to thank the IOC President Thomas Bach for accepting our proposal to have a refugee running as a torch bearer, carrying the highest symbol of Olympism.”
On Tuesday, April 26, 6th day of the torch relay, the Flame began its journey from Larisa, crossed Halkida, where the cauldron was lit by the Olympic champion Irini Aindili and arrived in Marathonas, where the Olympic champion Kostas Thanos lit the cauldron. The Flame was then handed over to the marathon Olympic champion, Portuguese Roza Mota, officially invited by the municipality of Marathon.
The torch relay continued in Athens with a special ceremony at the ministry of Defense, attended by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Evangelos Apostolakis and the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos.

See videos from the 6th day (Tuesday 26/4) of the Torch Relay in Greece, for Rio Olympics. From Larissa to Akropolis.

The Olympic Flame in Akropolis

Sakis Rouvas runs as a Torchbearer

Τhe Olympic Flame in the Ministry of Defence

The Olympic Flame in Chalkida

The Olympic Flame in Marathonas

 On April 27th, at 6pm, the Olympic Torch Handover ceremony will take place at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, celebrating the handover from Greece to Brazil of the Rio 2016 Olympic Torch. 
 
After the ceremony concludes, and during the night of April 27th, the stadium will be exceptionally lit in green and yellow, the colors of the Brazilian flag, to mark the beginning of the Olympic season under the responsibility of Brazil. The special lighting is offered by the Brazilian Government and aims at raising awareness and interest among the Greek general public about the Rio 2016 Games."

Greece bade farewell to the Olympic Flame with pride and emotion at the Handover Ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium, in the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos and 30.000 spectators. The Flame will now continue its journey to Rio de Janeiro for the Opening Ceremony of the XXXI Olympic Games, on August 5, in Maracana.

The Olympic Flame was handed over by the HOC President Spyros Capralos to the President of the Organizing Committee for the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games.

The torch relay on Greek territory was completed earlier, with the world rowing champion Katerina Nikolaidou being the last torchbearer and lighting the cauldron in the Panathenaic Stadium. In the Stadium, Niki Bakogianni, Ioannis Melissanidis and Nicole Kyriakopoulou also carried the Flame.

The impressive ritual performed by the High Priestess Katerina Lehou and the Priestesses was inspired by the choreographer Artemis Ignatiou to the music of the composer Yiannis Psimadas while the national anthems of Greece and Brazil as well as the Olympic Anthem were performed by the Children’s Olympic Choir of the Hellenic Olympic Academy.

The ceremony began with eight Olympic champions entering the Panathenaic Stadium holding the flags of Greece and Brazil. The Olympians were Pyrros Dimas, Nikos Kaklamanakis, Voula Kozombili, Irini Aindili, Thomas Bimis, Virginia Kravarioti, Mirela Maniani, Nikos Syranidis, Vassilis Polymeros, Stelios Mygiakis, Georgia Lara and Antigoni Roumbesi.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of the Interior Panagiotis Kouroumblis, the Deputy Minister of Finance Dimitris Mardas, the Minister of Sport Stavros Kontonis, the Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis, the President of the International Olympic Academy Isidoros Kouvelos, the Secretary General of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Manolis Katsiadakis, the Mayor of Marathonas Ilias Psinakis and many executives of sport and politics.

During his speech the HOC President stated: “We were all amazed when we witnessed the birth of the Olympic Light, one week ago at the Temple of Hera. We felt the aura of our ancestry in the ancient stadium of Olympia, we saw Greeks and friends from abroad fascinated by the site and the evocative Lighting Ceremony of the Flame.
The appeal of the Torch Relay, throughout its course, was absolutely impressive. In every metre, out of the 2.200 kilometers it overall covered, it came across moved, warm hearts, longing to receive the timeless messages for love, peace and friendship. Young and old, men and women, gathered to wish their very best for the long journey of the sacred Light to Rio.
The stop-over of the Flame at the refugee camp of Elaionas and Ibrahim, the Syrian athlete who carried the Flame, brought a very special meaning to this year’s Torch Relay and a unique message of solidarity and fraternity among peoples.

We are proud and moved for the unique moments that the Flame has once more offered to us, the Flame, which still is the most powerful symbol of Olympism.
The journey of the Flame within Greece is drawing to a close, right here, at the Panathenaic Stadium and now starts its journey to Brazil.”

The President of the “RIO 2016” Organizing Committee said: “Excitement is building in Brazil… and will build even more as the Torch Relay lights up all parts of the country.
The Relay will showcase to the world the amazing beauty of Brasil. It will also spread the spirit of the Games throughout the country.
It will visit 329 towns and cities, across all five regions… Travelling 20,000 kilometres by road and 10,000 miles by air… And being carried by 12,000 Torchbearers…
Who will carry the flame and its hope, and share it… from hand to hand… Energizing our young people, uniting our communities, and showcase the timeless power of the Games to create a better world.
We are keeping our promise to give millions of people the chance to be part of history. What we also promise is deliver great Games. We understand our responsibility as guardians of this Olympic Flame… Our responsibility to the athletes… To our visitors… And to all those who draw inspiration from the unique power of the Olympic Movement.
We understand… and we are ready.”

After the end of the Handover Ceremony the famous Greek singer Sakis Rouvas, who voluntarily led the program “Greece you can do it”, entered the Stadium, accompanied by the orchestra “Mobile” conducted by Theodoros Orfanidis and the Cantabile choir of the municipal Conservatory of Zografou, performing songs of the great Greek composers Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hatzidakis. The Brazilian dance group Quilombo followed by the dance company “VACCHAI” who danced Greek traditional dances.

Yellow and green lights illuminate the Athens Panathenaic Stadium in honour of Brazil, following the handover ceremony of the Olympic Flame to the delegation of the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Μichalis Anastasakis is the latest Greek athlete who has qualified for Rio Olympics. Untill today, Greece has reached the 84 athletes who have secured their qualification for the Olympic Games "Rio 2016".

The athletes are:

Athletics 24

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)
Nikos Skarvelis (shot put )
Alexia Pappas (10 km )
Panagiota Tsinopoulou ( 20 km walking )
Panagiota Vlachaki ( marathon )
Miltos Tentoglou (long jump )
Lili Alexoulis (long jump )
Μichalis Kalomiris (marathon)
Michael Anastassakis ( hammer throw )

Swimming 12

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)
Anna Ntountounaki (100m . Backstroke )
Apostolos Christou ( 100m backstroke )
Dimitris Koulouris (200m breaststroke )
Christos Katrantzis ( 4X100 freestyle)

Synchronized Swimming 2
Duet
Evangelia Platanioti , Evelina Papazoglou or Evangelia Koutidi

Waterpolo 13
Men National Team

Sailing 7
Viron Kokkalanis (RS:X)
Gelly Skarlatou (RS:X)
Pavlos Kagialis - Panagiotis Mantis ( 470 )
Giannis Mitakis ( Fin )
Sophia Bekatorou - Michalis Pateniotis ( Nacra 17)

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

Fencing 2
Vassiliki Vougiouka
Katerina Kontochristopoulou

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

Gymnastics 9
Lefteris Petrounias (artistic gymnastics )
Varvara Filiou (rhythmic gymnastics)
Vaso Millousi (artistic gymnastics)
National Team ( Stavroula Samara, Eleni Doika, Michaela Metallidou, Ioanna Anagnostopoulos Lilly Kontogianni )

Cycling 3
GiannisTamouridis ( road cycling)
Christos Volikakis ( road cycling)
Dimitris Antoniadis or Periklis Ilias ( mountain bike )

Table tennis 1
Panagiotis Gionis

Wrestling 1
Maria Pervolaraki

Judo 2
Ilias Iliadis
Roman Moustopoulos

The Member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and President of the Hellenic Archery Federation, Mr Petros Synadinos, was honored with the distinction “Pierre de Coubertin” of the International Olympic Committee, for his long and manyfaceted contribution to Olympism and sport.
The award was given to mr. Synadinos during the Opening Ceremony of the 56th International Session for Young Participants of the International Olympic Academy yesterday,on the Hill of the Pnyx.

Greek sailing champion Sofia Bekatorou was named Greece's flag bearer for the upcoming 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games, the Hellenic Olympic Committee announced on Tuesday in Athens.
Bekatorou thereby becomes the first female athlete in Greek Olympic history of to have the honor of carrying the Greek national flag in an opening ceremony, the statement added.
In 1908, in the London Olympics field athlete Nikolaos Georgantas became Greece's first ever flag bearer, while in the 2012 London Olympics it was Taekwondo athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis who carried the flag.
The decision about Bekatorou was made unanimously, the statement said.
Bekatorou, 38, won the gold medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
She had first participated in Olympic Games in 2000 in Sydney. In Rio she will compete in the Nacra 17 class along Michalis Pateniotis.
A total of 90 Greek athletes have qualified so far for the Rio Olympics.
"It is a great honor for me, it is a special honor since I am the first female flag bearer for Greece. I have taken part in three Olympics in three different classes and I feel that this is a vindication for my efforts all these years," Bekatorou said.
"I am also glad that despite problems so far 90 athletes have secured their participation in the forthcoming Olympic Games and I am sure that they will all do their best," she stated.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the launch date for its ground-breaking new media destination, the Olympic Channel, where fans can experience the power of sport and the Olympic Movement all year round. Starting Sunday 21 August, after the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the Olympic Channel platform will be available worldwide via a mobile app for Android and iOS devices and at olympicchannel.com.

In addition, athletes and fans can follow the Olympic Channel on its newly launched social media handles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and sign up for Olympic Channel updates at olympicchannel.com.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: “The launch of the Olympic Channel on 21st August is the start of an exciting new journey to connect the worldwide audience with the Olympic Movement all year round. Fans will be able to follow sports, athletes and the stories behind the Olympic Games. The Olympic Channel will inspire us all and reach out to new generations of athletes and fans.”

With the goal of providing a new way to engage young people, fans and new audiences in the Olympic Movement, the Olympic Channel is a free platform that will present original programming, live sports events, news and highlights offering additional exposure for sports and athletes all year round. Olympic Channel original programming will include both short-form and long-form content, focusing on elite athletes, their quest for success and sport around the world.

Designed for a global audience, the Olympic Channel digital platform will showcase content from around the world, and will initially be offered in English. Additional features at launch will include fantastic content as video on demand, as well as individual sport pages within a user-friendly and mobile-responsive interface, subtitled in nine different languages.

The Olympic Channel includes an option to register for a richer and more personalised experience, where users can follow their favourite athletes, teams, sports and countries to receive an individually-tailored content selection. The dynamic environment also allows videos to be easily shared across social media, and encourages users to regularly interact with the Olympic Movement.

After the launch of the global digital product in August, the Olympic Channel intends to foster partnerships with other Olympic stakeholders, including rights-holding broadcasters and National Olympic Committees to develop localised versions of the Olympic Channel. Localised versions will offer language-specific user experiences on digital platforms, and will also include linear television programming options.

Skateboarding, surfing and climbing are among five new sports confirmed for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Karate and baseball/softball have also been added by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The five extra sports, which do not replace any of the 28 already on the Tokyo schedule, will include 18 events and involve hundreds of athletes.

Baseball and softball featured separately between 1992 and 2008, but made a joint bid to be readmitted.

None of the other sports have been included before, though surf lifesaving was a demonstration sport at the Paris Games in 1900.

The five sports were all recommended by Tokyo organisers in July and unanimously backed by the executive board of the IOC, which subsequently described them as "a dynamic and exciting package" ahead of this final confirmation at the 129th IOC session on Wednesday.

The IOC said it hopes the "innovative" move will draw in new audiences by focusing inclusions on youth-oriented sports.

"We want to take sport to the youth," said IOC president Thomas Bach.

"With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them."

The unanimous decision to confirm the five new sports was made two days before the opening ceremony of the 2016 Rio Games.

The Administrative Board of the Hellenic Olympic Team in Rio, announces that a first sample of a member of the Olympic Team was found positive during a doping control taken place at the beginning of July in Athens. The HOC had requested the control of all Greek athletes who were going to participate in the Rio Olympic Games.
The abovementioned member of the Hellenic Olympic Team has left the Olympic Village.

The Hellenic Olympic Committee awarded all men and women athletes who competed in the 31st Olympic Games, in a brilliant celebration, worthy of the Greek successes in the “RIO 2016” Olympic Games. The celebration for the Olympians was held at the Zappeion Conference Hall, honored by the presence of the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr Prokopios Pavlopoulos and was transmitted live by the Greek national TV. In his speech, the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos summed up the work of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and presented his proposals for the period until the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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The celebration began with the entry of the athletes. The athletes who won positions 4th – 9th were awarded by members of the HOC Plenary Session. The Olympic medalists were awarded by Olympic medalists of previous Olympic Games and other leading figures. The gold Olympic medalist Anna Korakaki was awarded by the President of the Hellenic Republic. The gold Olympic medalist Lefteris Petrounias was awarded by the Deputy Minister for Sports Stavros Kontonis. The gold Olympic medalist Katerina Stefanidi (represented by her father) was awarded by the Olympic medalist Georgios Roumbanis. The silver Olympic medalist Spyros Gianniotis was awarded by the member of the board of STOIXIMAN.GR Ioannis Spanoudakis. The bronze Olympic medalists Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis were awarded by the Olympic medalists Sophia Bekatorou and former King Constantine.

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The celebration was also attended, among others, by the President of the ICMG Amar Addadi, the President of the French Olympic Committee Denis Masseglia, the President of the Association of Friends of Children with cancer “ELPIDA” and UNESCO Good Will Ambassador Marianna Vardinoyiannis, the President of the Panhellenic Women’s Sports Association Katerina Panagopoulou, the High Priestess Katerina Lehou, the choreographer of the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame Artemis Ignatiou, the IOC Honorary Member Lambis Nikolaou and members of the HOC Plenary Session.

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The team of the Lighting and Handover Ceremonies of the Olympic Flame was honoured by the Hellenic Olympic Committee in a warm, full of emotion ceremony, held at the HOC premises. The HOC President Spyros Capralos and the members of the HOC Plenary Session thanked all those who selflessly offer their services and show the most beautiful face of Greece to the whole world, through the two traditional ceremonies. Among those who were honoured were the High Priestess Katerina Lehou, the Choreographer Artemis Ignatiou, the composer Yiannis Psimadas, the Assistant Choreographer Alexandra Nikolopoulou, her assistant Mitsi Sideri, all the Priestesses and the male dancers.

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The IOC Executive Board received a presentation on the success of the Olympic Games Rio 2016. Directors of the Olympic Games and Sports Departments, Olympic Solidarity and IOC Television & Marketing Services presented the key success of the Games in Rio. As well as the latest TV ratings and the results of our global public survey, the presentation featured highlights of the performances as well as the success of the Refugee Olympic Team and Olympic Solidarity scholarships.

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) on Friday held its first meeting of 2017 with IOC President Thomas Bach in attendance. The meeting’s key outcome was the appointment of Spyros Capralos as Chair of the EOC Coordination Commission for the second edition of the European Games in 2019 in Minsk, Belarus.

EOC Acting President Janez Kocijančič opened the day’s proceedings in Lausanne by welcoming President Bach and thanking him for his guidance of the Olympic Movement throughout 2016. President Bach then gave an update on the IOC’s latest activities, especially in the area of anti-doping, and answered questions from Executive Committee members.
Capralos’s appointment as Coordination Commission Chair for Minsk 2019 was then confirmed by unanimous approval from Executive Committee members. Capralos, the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, is taking on the same role he occupied from 2013-2015 for the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

On Capralos’s appointment, Kocijančič said:

“Spyros’s chairing of the Baku 2015 Coordination Commission was very impressive and we are delighted that he is able to continue in this role for Minsk 2019. We are very excited that preparations for the second European Games are gathering speed in Minsk.”

The first Coordination Commission visit to Minsk is expected in the spring. EOC Coordination Commission Chair for Minsk 2019, Spyros Capralos, said:

“I am very happy to be taking on this responsibility once again. The Coordination Commission has a vital role to play in shaping the final concept of the European Games and my work starts with immediate effect. My commission members will make sure that the EOC’s experience of delivering Baku 2015 is passed on to the Minsk 2019 European Games Organising Committee in the best possible way.”