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Nanjing Olympic Flame lit in Athens

The Olympic Flame lit again on Wednesday in Athens for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games to take place in Nanjing, China this August, as the weather at the Panathenaic Stadium was kind enough to ensure a glorious ceremony for the people attending, including several hundreds of schoolchildren.

After a beautiful dancing happening titled “Caryatids”, High Priestess Katerina Lechou lit the Flame and promptly delivered it to the first torchbearer, Greece’s 17-year-old fencing champion Marios Yiakoumatos.

Then the Hellenic Olympic Committee president Spyros Kapralos handed over the Flame to his Chinese counterpart, Liu Peng to take it to the organizing committee of the Youth Olympics.

The event took place in the presence of the Honorary President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, who introduced the idea of the Youth Olympics during his tenure as the IOC President from 2001 to 2013 and presided over the first Games. Also present was the President of the Hellenic Republic, Karolos Papoulias.

The 2014 Youth Olympics will take place from August 16 to 28.

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